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THE TEACHING 

OF 

ORAL ENGLISH 



"In education the process of self-development should be 
encouraged to the fullest extent. Children should be 
led to make their own investigations, and to draw their 
own inferences. They should be told as little as pos- 
sible, and induced to discover as much as possible. 
Humanity has progressed solely by self -instruction; and 
that to achieve the best results, each mind must progress 
somewhat after the same fashion, is continually proved by 
the marked success of self-made men. Those who have 
been brought up under the ordinary school drill, and have 
carried away with them the idea that education is prac- 
ticable only in that style, will think it hopeless to make 
children their own teachers."— HERBERT SPENCER. 



THE TEACHING 

OF 

ORAL ENGLISH 



BY 
EMMA MILLER BOLENIUS, A.M., Columbia 




PHILADELPHIA AND LONDON 
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 






COPTBIQHT, I9I4, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY 



Eledrotyped and Printed by J. B. Lippincott Company 
The Washington Square Press, Philadelphia, U.S.A. 
00 



JUN 2^ 1914 

©CI,A3 7G44 8 



To 



THE BOYS AND GIRLS WHO HAVE 
MADE THESE PAGES POSSIBLE 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER I 

"One-Minute Talks" with Beginners,. 1 

CHAPTER II 

"One-Minute Talks" with Older Stu- 
dents 23 

CHAPTER III 

What to Avoid in Oral Composition ... 43 

CHAPTER IV 

The Choice of a Subject .' 57 

CHAPTER V 

The Debate in English and History ... 74 

CHAPTER VI 

The Use of the Symposium in English 

Classes 102 

CHAPTER VII 

A Mythologicaj. Symposium 113 

CHAPTER VIII 

Oral Composition in History 127 

CHAPTER IX 

The History Club. 146 

CHAPTER X 

Organizing a Government as a Class Ex- 
ercise 177 



PREFACE 

In these days of modern efficiency, 
pedagogy must be practical. It must 
yield results. Both press and general 
public have arraigned the schools of the 
country for failure to produce effective 
spoken English. Thoughtful teachers 
acknowledge that pupils leave school with 
slovenly speech largely because there is 
no regular supervision of their speech and 
no systematic practice in oral composi- 
tion. The new movement in teaching 
English, therefore, under the inspiring 
leadership of the English Journal and the 
National Council of Teachers of English, 
is a strong reaction in favor of oral Eng- 
lish. Since the National Council of 
Teachers of English has recommended 
that much more of the time given to com- 
position should be devoted to oral composi- 
tion, and since a number of cities now 
require that candidates who wish to teach 
English must show a knowledge of oral 
methods and an ability to teach oral Eng- 
lish, it is necessary to devise a plan 



X PREFACE 

whereby oral composition can be com- 
bined with the other Enghsh work. 

Common-sense suggests that shght im- 
provement can be made in a pupil's habits 
of speech if he is given oral composition 
only six or seven times a term. What is 
needed is eighty talks a year or a minimum 
of at least one a week. Furthermore, in 
a democratic school system like ours a 
method must be applied to each pupil in 
a class, not to a favored few. Teachers, 
therefore, are groping for a way to sys- 
tematize oral composition and correlate it 
with the other English work in the limited 
time allowed the whole subject. 

Five years ago the writer began to 
experiment in teaching oral composition 
in a private school ^ of about five hmidred 
students, in classes of from twenty to 
thirty pupils each. Later the same 
methods were used in the Central High 
School at Newark, N. J., a school of more 
than twelve hundred pupils, with the 
larger classes usually found in big city 
high schools. In both schools the good 
results were gratifying. 

^ See Education, March, 1911, and Popular Educator, 
Sept-Dec, 1911. 



PREFACE xi 

The methods advocated in these pages 
are based upon the followmg convictions: 

1. Oral composition must be assigned 
often enough to make an impression upon 
the speech of a pupil. 

2. Each pupil must be given the train- 
ing in speaking. 

3. A pupil's speech must be caught in 
the making, for a memorized speech is 
not oral composing. 

4. Personal poise, management of 
voice, phraseology, and power of think- 
ing must all be trained. 

5. Oral composition should be used in 
connection with other studies that permit 
of topical discussion. 

6. Self-government by the class, organ- 
ized as a club using parliamentary pro- 
cedure, gives the pupil invaluable dis- 
cipline of mind and character. 

7. Self -teaching is the best sort of 
teaching, for it brings the most per- 
manent results. 

8. Progress in oral English is secured 
by regular practice and deliberate effort, 
on the part of the pupil, to eliminate faults 
and to increase powers of expression. 

9. The laboratory method — experi* 



xii PREFACE 

mentation and criticism of results — is as 
applicable to English as to science. 

This book is a description of laboratory 
methods applied to oral composition. 
Copious notes of talks and various other 
exercises, recorded by the writer from day 
to day as the classes met, furnish the 
illustrative material in these chapters. If 
some of the ideas seem new, we contend 
that they are grounded in the psychology 
of common-sense. They bring results and 
win the enthusiastic support of students. 
In the Central High School at Newark, 
pupils^ eager^for effective self-expression 
in speech, organized a Speak Well Club 
and from the stage of the large auditorium 
gave extra talks after school. 

These pages do not aim to lay down 
an arbitrary system, but to be suggestive 
to teachers. It is hoped that the book 
will prove stimulating to young teachers 
just out of college or normal school, to 
teachers of rural schools, and to all others 
who are searching for ways and means 
of fulfilling the requirement that the 
schools teach more effective speech. 

Emma Miller Bolenius. 

April, 1914 



1 



THE TEACHING OF 
ORAL ENGLISH 

CHAPTER I 

" One-Minute Talks " with 
Beginners 

This is just a talk, not a formal ex- 
position of methods. There are tricks 
in the trade, even in teaching,' a knack 
in presenting the subject attractively, and 
thus getting the best and the most out of 
the pupil. Some methods used effectively 
in oral composition we hope to show in 
the following pages. 

the need for oral composition 

Stock-men hobble their horses to cor- 
rect faults of gait. This turns out a 
beautiful pacer or coach horse with su- 
perb swing of limb, very different from 
that of the farm horse or the hack. The 
restraint of the hobble has made the 
thoroughbred gait. 

1 



2 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

Many of our boys and girls of the 
earlier years, first-year students in high 
schools, for instance, and students in 
country schools, have grown up wild in 
speech. Their talk abounds in the slang, 
grammatical errors, localisms, and mis- 
pronunciations, which make slovenliness; 
as well as in the mistakes made by 
foreigners in acquiring a new language. 
The boy in his conversation is a hobble- 
de-hoy. 

Therefore, we say "hobble the boy!" 
Do it consciously, yet tactfully, so that 
there will not be a sacrifice of creative 
power. Let him run short lengths in 
speech, by giving him oral themes of from 
fifty to two hundred words — " one-minute 
talks " in class. 

No one questions the importance of 
correct, clear, effective speech. All 
schools emphasize written composition; 
progressive schools are beginning to place 
oral composition on an equal footing, giv- 
ing to both a good share of time, for in 
expression, practice directed by theory is 
what counts. It must be the kind of ex- 
pression that makes an impression. 



NEED FOR ORAL COMPOSITION 3 

The need of a system of oral com- 
position was recognized by the New York 
State Association of English Teachers, 
meeting at Columbia University, when 
they revised the college entrance require- 
ments as follows : 

(1) Test of written composition by a 
theme based on personal experience. 

(2) Test of range of reading and literary 
appreciation by questions based on general 
reading. 

(3) Test of the candidate's power of oral 
expression by reading aloud and by conversing. 

It is also significant that the High 
School Teachers' Association of New 
York City in revising the course of study 
for secondary schools gave more promi- 
nence to oral composition and to reading 
aloud. 

Education should prepare boys and 
girls to cope successfully with life. Is it 
good judgment to concentrate on a 
foreign tongue or a dead language, and 
yet allow the boy to leave school at gradua- 
tion with a slovenly use of English, his 



4 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

mother tongue, the medium he will use 
all his life in social relations and in 
business? 

During his entire life the boy will be 
talking — in the office, on the street, at 
home, in church work, in social life at 
large. First impressions are made and 
unmade by the words that fall from the 
lips. Many an applicant has lost his 
chance of a position because his English 
was not good. Many a professional man 
has wished he had the confidence to speak 
his professional views in public; many a 
club woman has sat silent in a meeting 
because she was not as clever with her 
tongue as with her brain. 

Do you remember the time when, as a 
child, you permitted an injustice to be 
done you by another, because you were 
too timid to speak out? Or do you remem- 
ber an occasion when you really knew a 
question but lacked the words and confi- 
dence to explain it? Ideas seethed within 
you, but were you too diffident to voice 
them? Perhaps j^ou sat in a meeting, 
struggling with yourself to speak, but 
though the brain was ready with a good 



INTRODUCTORY TALK TO CLASS 5 

idea, the lips hesitated. Then, too, do 
you remember how you raked your brain 
for ideas, but none came? Woeful ad- 
mission, is it not! Do you not wish that 
the school had helped you, as a pupil, to 
think thoughts worthwhile, and had 
forced out your opinion? 

" One-minute talks " in class can be of 
incalculable aid in curing faults and in 
developing thought. The object of this 
book is to show how systematized oral 
composition brought out astonishingly 
good results in a large mixed school of 
American boys and girls, many eager 
Greeks and Russian Jews, and a Chinese 
boy. 

AN INTRODUCTORY TALK TO THE CLASS 

Here is an assorted class with all kinds 
of home training, all kinds of brains — both 
American- and foreign-made. Our busi- 
ness is to teach these students to speak 
and to write well. At first glance, their 
chief faults seem to be timidity, paucity 
of ideas, small vocabulary, and incorrect 
expressions. If we have an intimate talk 
as to why we wish them to learn to speak 



6 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

clearly, correctly, and effectively, they 
will enter heartily into the spirit of the 
crusade against poor English. Two pull- 
ing together get better results than two 
pulling opposite ways or one alone 
pushing. 

Therefore, we explain: 

" The class will be a little club to help 
you to become good talkers, good writers, 
good thinkers, good ' appreciators.' It 
is to be a Mutual Benefit Society, in which 
each helps the other to overcome his faults 
and to develop his strong points. It was 
Boileau, the French critic, who said, ' The 
style's the man.' Therefore, we will help 
each one of you to bring out your personal 
style, your individuality. To do this, 
each one here must pull with us and do 
his best to develop himself. You will 
learn to think on your feet, to speak 
entei-tainingly, to hold an audience — ^if 
you do your part." 

Next on the program is to hold up an 
ideal, a standard. It is a good plan to 
write it on the blackboard, as it is drawn 
from the class by questions. 

" Why do you like your minister? " 



INTRODUCTORY TALK TO CLASS 7 

" His voice rolls out so loud and nicely," 
volunteers John. 

" Ours has a squeaky voice but he tells 
good stories," adds an older boy. 

" Ours puts his words together well," 
says another. 

" You ought to see our preacher," 
bursts in Tom. " He stands up so much 
bigger than he is, and he's alwus lookin' 
right at you ! " 

" Just so," we offer. " Any more 
reasons? " 

" Ours has such sensible ideas," says 
Mary Gray timidly, " such beautiful 
ideas about life. And he uses his hands, 
too." 

" Would it not be fine, boys," is the 
comment, as we write " ideas and 
gestures " on the board, " to have a minis- 
ter who did and had all these things ! " 

"Yes, sir!" ejaculates Tom. "But . 
he'd go to a big church and we wouldn't 
get him! " 

" Exactly! " The tone means volumes. 
" He would get a great salary, a broader 
field, and honor — simply because he has 
all these things combined, which your 



8 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

ministers have separately. Would it not 
be fine for one person to have all these 
things! " 

They nod approval. 

" Then let us work for them all. We 
shall write these fine things on the board. 
You may take them down in the back 
of your theme book as a model." 

Then the outline is blocked in: 

A FINE SPEAKER 

Position 

1. Body — Erect, graceful. 

2. Head—\]^. 

3. Eyes — Alert, sparkling with interest, 

holding the whole audience. 

4. Hands — Loose, used to emphasize points 

naturally, gestures. 
Voice 

1. Loud — What is the use of saying any- 

thing, if it can not be heard ! 

2. Well-modulated — Speaking in one tone is 

disagreeable — so is the sing-song 
speaker. Let the voice .go up and 
down pleasantly; let it be flexible. 

5. Good Quality — Not nasal, sharp, or 

gruff, but musical. 



A FINE SPEAKER 9 

Style 

1. Correct — Grammar, pronunciation, vo- 

cabulary. 

2. Clear — Know what you mean yourself, 

then tell it so that others understand. 

3. Concise — Use few words. Do not ramble 

or say things indirectly. 

4. Coherent — Link one sentence naturally 

to the one before, to avoid abruptness. 

5. Convincing — Learn to use all the devices 

that improve style. A rhetoric, text- 
book explains these. Use them. 
Ideas 

1. Fullness — Get ideas from reading, ob- 

servation, conversation, imagination, etc. 

2. Correctness — Be accurate in your in- 

formation; avoid the slip-shod process 
in thinking. A country boy's accurate 
information about a squirrel or a 
ground-hog is worth more than a city 
boy's jumbled description of the same, 
culled from an encyclopedia and 
chance observation. 

3. Interest — Widen your interests. Broaden 

your outlook. Choose interesting sub- 
jects, of which you know something, 
subjects in which the class is interested. 



10 



TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 



With some striking statement that sets 
the class working along very definite lines, 
this introductory talk is concluded. In 
one class it was : 

" So you see, our system is the Big 
Four." To illustrate, we draw four sets 




of rails in perspective. At the joining 
point we write " fine speaker " and on 
the separate lines " position," " voice," 
" style," and " ideas." 

" We will watch our positions, voices. 



HOW TALKS ARE GIVEN 11 

styles, and ideas to keep them evenly ad- 
vancing. For to-morrow please take 
account of yourselves, as if you were 
merchants taking account of stock. 
Notice how you stand, how your voice is, 
how j'-ou speak, and how your ideas come. 
If possible, talk with some one at home 
about your manner in conversation. In 
class we shall discuss ' The Thing You 
Are Most Interested In! ' " 

" Gee! " blurts out Tom, " that's mak- 
ing kites for me ! " 

" Tell us how it is done," is the reply, as 
a much-awakened class passes from the 
room. 

HOW TALKS ABE GIVEN 

Before the fii'st performance of that 
class is described, let us mention various 
devices to get timid students on the floor. 
The " one-minute talks " are given from 
the front of the room, facing the class, as 
the pulpit is in front of the congregation. 
That, in itself, is a trial for the backward. 
We explain that it is really only a recita- 
tion, given from the front of the room 



12 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

instead of from the seat, and that talks 
deal with some one subject in a topical 
way, instead of answering one of several 
questions needed to describe that one sub- 
ject. There are always some students in 
the class that must be taught to conquer 
self-consciousness. 

But what a valuable conquest it is! We 
worked with one girl nearly a month be- 
fore we could induce her to come to the 
front of the room. That was done finally 
in this way : She was asked to come to the 
teacher's desk and talk to her; while she 
talked, the teacher stood up, and then pre- 
tended to do something in the back of the 
room. 

" Just go on," was said off-hand, as the 
girl hesitated. 

She continued. When she finished, she 
was greatly complimented: 

" Now see how easy it is! You have 
been talking to the class, too." 

It requires tact to help the backward, 
for they have a handicap to overcome be- 
fore they can settle down to the four- 
track race above described. 



THE FIRST LESSON 13 

THE FIRST LESSON 

The class has assembled on the next 
day. Faces are eager. Several pupils 
have brought with them the things they 
mean to talk about. We begin by calling 
piecemeal from the class the ideal of a 
fine speaker. After that, comes the 
plunge : 

" Now, ready! . . . Come to the front 
of the room, stand straight, speak loud, 
tell in a few words about the thing you 
are interested in. Keep an eye on your 
listeners to see if they follow you. When 
you have made your point, stop. Let us 
make it voluntary. Who will come first? " 

Tom and two others are on their feet, 
one a boy so backward and undeveloped 
that we think of him as " the Angleworm." 
Tom is designated. He holds a small kite 
awkwardly in his hand. 

"Fine!" comes the word of praise. 
" Show the class, as you explain." 

So the boy, awkwardly, it is true, points 
out the various parts. There is the be- 
ginning of gesture for him, a phase of 
speaking hard for young people to 
manage. 



14 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

" Last summer I made a lot o' kites. We 
was campin' up the Allegheny. You take two 
sticks and cross them like this, one larger 
than the other. Then paste paper over it, tie 
string to the middle. Yes, an' you make a tail 
by tying paper onto a string and fastening 
to the end to weigh it down. Here's a kite! " 

" That is a good start, Tom," com- 
mends the teacher. 

For several weeks we work for spon- 
taneity. After that, we begin to point 
out mistakes. Meanwhile, from the very 
first there is kept in a record book a list 
of errors made by students individually. 
For example — 

Tom Black: Sept. 10th, concord — omits 
final g — omits final consonants — an' — practi- 
cal — kites — to the point- — voice good — ges- 
tures, though awkward — eager; Sept. 12th, 

This grouping of criticisms under the 
student's name is a card system of notes, 
that soon reveal weaknesses. 

" The Angleworm " comes up next. 
He holds in his hand a bunch of ribbons. 



THE FIRST LESSON 15 

On his face is clearly written a struggle 
between interest in his subject and awk- 
ward backwardness. We call him "Angle- 
worm," because he seems absolutely with- 
out the backbone of will. His speech 
needs many encouraging prods to get it 
out, but it also is a good " first speech," 
because that boy never did so hard a thing. 
He holds up the ribbons with a half- 
foolish smile on his face. When the class 
begins to titter, the teacher looks at them 
with a surprised air, then speaks : 

" Are those prizes ? That is fine! We 
wish to know just what they are and how 
you got them." 

The class is all interest. How a little 
word can turn them! 

" I won 'em," he begins boldly. " Chickens ! 
We had poultry shows at , at , and at 



In mind we can hear yet his sing-song, 
jerky voice and see his mechanical, scared 
manner. 

"Yes?" comes the interruption. 
" Name some of the kinds of chickens." 



16 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

Then he runs off into an enumeration 
that makes us almost dizzy: 

" Plymouth Rocks, Rhode Island Reds, 
Wyandottes — them's the white ones — Buff 
Cochins, Brown Leghorns, White Leghorns, 
Buff Rocks, Minorcas " 

His voice trails off to the ceiling. 

"Good!" he is encouraged. "Next 
time will you tell us how to make entries 
for a show and what the various colors 
mean? " 

" Yas'm," he says and walks back to 
his seat. 

That minute a vertebra formed! In 
six months he had three-fourths of a spinal 
column. He looks people in the eyes 
now and is acquiring a manly, not-afraid 
air. On his feet he even remembers not 
to say " them's." 

So we go the rounds — ten volunteer, all 
sorts of subjects. Ten more are called 
out and do their poor best. Four sit 
silent — the failures. Thej^ simply can't, 
they say. It took several trials to bring 
them out, but they came as they always 



HELPING STUDENTS TO IMPROVE 17 

will, if normal, and properly urged. Even 
abnormal pupils can be brought out; one 
young fellow who lisped made a record 
for himself. 

HOW TO HELP STUDENTS TO IMPROVE 

This is using laboratory methods in 
English. The first duty of the teacher 
is to discover the boy's weak spots, then 
point them out to him, show him how to 
overcome them, and give him practice. 
Make it a rule to praise, as well as to 
censure. 

At intervals it is well to discuss, in- 
formally, the most noticeable errors in the 
class, as lack of concord, double negative, 
wrong cases after prepositions, etc., in 
grammar; failure to pronounce vowels 
properly, cutting off initial or final letters 
of words, inserting extra letters or sylla- 
bles, sounding silent letters, etc., in pro- 
nunciation; confusing such words as 
auditor and spectator, accept and except, 
proscribe and prescribe, etc., in diction. 

Reserve one corner of the blackboard, 

where students can record mistakes they 
2 



18 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

hear or bits of slang to avoid. At the end 
of the week give a few minutes to discus- 
sion of them. Here is a sample, taken at 
random from the board: 



YOU MUTT GIVE IT TO HEK AN I 

THEM THERE THINGS AIN't IT SO 

TOU SEZZER EACH BOY TOOK THEIR BOOKS 



The quality of ideas can be improved 
by putting up thought-inspiring mottoes, 
by talks, by reading outside of school, as 
well as by careful interpretation of the 
classics. The first quietly attract atten- 
tion and exert a silent influence. 

We have three separate vocabularies. 
Our smallest is the speaking vocabulary,, 
often colloquial and sometimes restricted 
by slang. Next comes the writing vocabu- 
lary, made up of all words we use in our 
writing. This is a larger number, be- 
cause we can take time to think of the 
words. It should be our aim to make the 
speaking and writing vocabularies the 
same. Last comes the reading vocabu- 
lary, comprising all words we know. Our 
desire should be to use these words in 



HELPING STUDENTS TO IMPROVE 19 

writing and speaking. Beyond this 
comparatively small number of words in 
each student's reading vocabulary lie the 
other thousands that make up Webster's 
Unabridged Dictionary. This unknown 
vocabulary is a vast field for the student 
to explore in his hunt for the right word to 
ex23ress his idea. Every student should 
own a small dictionary and use it con- 
stantly. The greatest menace of slang 
is that it restricts the size of vocabulary by 
keeping out of use standard words. 

Beginners ought to weed out grammati- 
cal mistakes, unpleasant mannerisms in 
address, and mispronunciations; they 
ought to acquire a larger vocabulary and 
a wider range of subjects; they ought also 
to apply such fundamental laws of good 
writing, as unity, emphasis, clearness, 
brevity, and coherence. Digressions, am- 
biguity, wordiness, and incoherence mark 
the amateur; the opposite qualities should 
be rigidly developed in the beginner. U,se 
of outlines will cure at least three of the 
above faults, because the outline can be 
tested and if found wrong or insufficient 
can be corrected. Do not allow students 



20 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

to write up talks from outlines, unless de- 
sired for a special purpose, because the 
actual talk then becomes an exercise in 
memory, rather than in original, extem- 
poraneous phrasing. 

There is a wealth of subjects to start 
with : personal exjDeriences ; processes ; de- 
scriptions of people, of articles ; anecdotes ; 
reports of reading or of lessons studied. 
History affords abundant chance to work 
in these talks. Translations, explana- 
tions, summaries, discussions, reasons, — 
all these are exercises in " Oral Compo- 
sition." 

Speed the day when it is recognized as 
fundamental in all studies, and each 
teacher makes it a business to demand 
careful, effective expression in our 
mother-tongue. 

SUMMARY 

Digest of Methods.— Ch^^ier I empha- 
sizes the value of practical, systematic 
training in oral composition and the need 
of a definite ideal; in a sample lesson it 
gives a concrete illustration of the gather- 



SUMMARY 21 

ing together of such material. Such 
sample lessons are of great help to the 
beginner because they represent actual 
teaching. The chapter shows how to keep 
an individual card record of criticisms, how 
to use other features with English work, 
and how to arouse and preserve a vital 
interest in improving daily speech. This 
last is done, first, by furnishing a definite 
purpose for student effort, which in itself 
is the first factor in successful application ; 
next, by presenting a definite prohlein to 
be tackled, — ^the students' own faulty 
speech; last, by pointing out a definite 
remedy. In other words, the teacher helps 
the students to diagnose their own cases 
and apply the cures. Furthermore, the 
chapter urges the discussion of school 
matters in the home, and by giving pupils 
a chance to master a hard situation by 
act of will, furnishes them with the key to 
success in life. 

Tlie chapter holds that it is better at 
times to ignore faults and control the 
classroom environment so that it induces 
responsiveness. It begins work from the 
viewjjoint of the impils' interest, and by 



22 TALKS WITH BEGINNERS 

holding out something worthwhile as the 
end of effort, and an agreeable under- 
standable road of effort, minimizes the 
friction of classroom work, thereby 
achieving harmony, the frame of mind 
most kind to accomplishment. It insists 
that beginners should be taught to express 
themselves clearly a7id briefly; that timid- 
ity and awkwardness, as well as ignorance, 
should be overcome in the classroom. By 
definite suggestions it popidarizes dic- 
tionary work. Great waste of effort is 
sometimes found in the schools by study 
about English instead of study of Eng- 
lish. Chapter I tries to eliminate this by 
insisting that subject-matter shoidd be a 
means, not an end, of training. It shows 
the teacher how to draw material from the 
class instead of telling it himself, and how 
to drive ideas home by chart and diagrams. 
In a word, it appeals to the teacher to 
convert the English classroom into a 
laboratory for daily experimentation in 
speech, and in such speech as a conscious 
exercise in oral composition. 



CHAPTER II 

" One-Minute Talks " with Older 
Students 

The ideal of the good speaker has been 
emphasized constantly through the stu- 
dent's first-year work, with the result that 
there is discernible an improvement in 
position, voice, style, and ideas. We have 
now come to the second-year work, or oral 
composition with older students. 

A plea for harmonious development 

" Do you remember," the teacher asks 
by way of reminder, " the Big-Four 
Track, that leads to the Fine Speaker? " 
In a moment it is drawn again on the 
blackboard. " These must all be de- 
veloped. Suppose on a platform before 
a gi'eat audience a man is speaking. He 
has graceful gestures and magnetic eyes 
— in a word, the born orator's manner; 
but his voice is so weak or his articulation 
so poor that you can not hear or under- 

23 



24 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

stand what he is saying. How disgusted 
you are! 

" Suppose his speech can be understood, 
but is full of grammatical blunders that 
any thirteen-year-old boy would have the 
sense to avoid. What then? You are 
disappointed, but may listen with a lofty 
air (your grammar being so much bet- 
ter!) , because his ideas are worth hearing." 

The class is eagerljr following. 

" Suppose, again, the speaker has a fine 
presence and a golden tongue of elo- 
quence, coming from a natural facility in 
putting words together. You listen to 
the first sentence with pleasure, settling 
back in j^our chair. But in a minute you 
move restlessly, then turn to your neigh- 
bor with a ' Did you hear that ! ' in your 
eye. The speech is worthless and ex- 
asperating, because the ideas are trite, 
hackneyed, or untrue. 

" He is followed by another," the 
teacher continues — after explaining some 
" exploded theories," which the bright 
minds in the class wish discussed — " who 
slouches on the platform and breaks a 
half dozen grammatical commandments. 



HARMONIOUS DEVELOPMENT 25 

yet you listen. He has ideas worthwhile 
and can produce them, even in a poor 
way." 

" The thoughts come first, don't they? " 
breaks in an interested voice. 

" Yes, but suppose " begins another 

student. 

A broad smile runs over the class at the 
unconscious use of the phraseology. 

" I'll suppose a little further, since this 
is making it clear to you. There is in the 
audience a man who is an authority on 
the subject, handled so crudely by the 
former speaker — a university man at the 
head of his profession. But he refuses to 
come forward. He can not face an audi- 
ence and marshal his thoughts at the same 
time. It is mortifying. He can marshal 
them superbly in the quiet of his study, 
where he puts his ideas in book form, but 
as a public speaker he is an utter failure. 
Another man is invited to the platform. 
He happens to be a lawyer, who profes- 
sionally needs a pleasing address, fine 
voice, good flow of words, and strong 
ideas; his lively, intelligent speech, there- 
fore, brings a round of applause." 



26 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

There is a shine of pride in the eyes of 
the boys who are planning to be lawyers, 
so the teacher winds up with, " Every 
man and every woman ought to be able 
to speak, as the lawyer spoke! " 

If ideas are of primary importance, we 
ought to help our boys and girls to form 
opinions and to force out thought; we 
ought to give them profitable training 
in developing a good style; we ought to 
strengthen voices until they can be heard, 
and insist on the best position. Schools 
fail in the discharge of their full duty if 
they ignore these. 

SELF-CRITICISM 

As soon as the boy is at home in front of 
the class, the time has come for him to 
concentrate not only on what he is saying 
but on how he is saying it. This is to be 
done eventually by himself, while speak- 
ing. It stands to reason that older stu- 
dents can do it better than younger ones. 
Certain glaring faults must be corrected 
as soon as said or done; as, lack of con- 
cord, common mispronunciations, weak 



SELF-CRITICISM 27 

voice, and bad position. Often a gesture 
is enough to point out the mistake. If the 
error has not been explained, take time in 
class to explain it. 

The correction of mistakes must be 
gradual. To correct every error would 
soon have the boy confused by the multi- 
tude of mistakes he is directed to over- 
come. And how he would hate English! 
The attitude of like or dislike makes a 
great difference in a boy's work. 

Such a method of wholesale criticism 
would be deadening. Criticism, to be help- 
ful, must be cumulative, not wholesale; 
constructive, not destructive. With every 
word of censure ought to come the word 
of praise; as, 

" It was very hard to hear you, John, 
and those ideas were worth hearing. 
Practice throwing your voice to the stu- 
dents in the rear of the room." 

To another we say, " I like that manly 
voice and careful pronunciation. How 
out of keeping are your hands in your 
pockets, Earl! A clean-cut speech and 
slouchy position do not go well together, 
do they?" 



28 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

Suggestion can be used very efFectivelj^ 
with poor students. When we noticed 
even a trace of something good, we praised 
it, magnified it. The boy unconsciously 
tried to live up to our idea. One of the 
boys from the country was so embarrassed 
that he fixed his eyes on the ceiling and 
could not look into the faces of the class. 
It was painful for him ; it was painful for 
the class ; it was more than painful for the 
teacher. It was a problem to solve 
quickly. One day in the midst of his talk, 
she spoke to him from her seat in the back 
of the room. Naturally his eyes dropped 
to hers. 

" Keep talking to me, Percy," she said 
quietly. He did. When he finished, she 
remarked casually, " How interesting 
you make it when you catch our eyes! 
Does he not, boys? " 

The rest of the class always gallantly 
back her up; they seem to see what she is 
working for and help, too. Percy flushed 
with pleasure. The next time he talked, 
she said in a half -reminiscent way, " I 
liked the way you looked at us during 
your last speech. What are you going to 



SELF-CRITICISM 29 

talk about to-day? . . . Catching squir- 
rels? I want to know all about it, and so 
do Agnes and Florence. They are not 
from the country, so let us tell them some- 
thing they do not know." Percy forced 
himself to drop his eyes to her several 
times, and to Agnes and Florence possi- 
bly once during the talk. 

It takes years to overcome backward- 
ness. We must be careful not to increase 
the timidity. How happy the boy is as 
he learns body-control, eye-control, hand- 
control, tongue-control — in a word, self- 
control ! 

Towards the end of the first year, pupils 
learned to hesitate of their own accord 
and correct mistakes. For instance — 

" Longfellow wrote ' Evangeline,' ' Hi- 
awatha,' and ' The Courtship of Miles Stand- 
ish.' They was — they were all long poems." 

Before the boy attained power to cor- 
rect himself thus without reminder, we 
rigidly interrupted him for glaring mis- 
takes and forced him to hold back ideas, 
while he recast the sentence. The class 



30 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

noticed the improvement in the second 
version, so that it was a demonstration in 
English — Si sort of laboratory experiment. 

AN ENGLISH CLUB 

With one class a pet scheme worked 
eiFectively. When we had talks, we often 
turned the class into a club with a student 
presiding. The teacher sat in the rear of 
the room, keeping in card catalogue the 
good and the bad points of each student. 
The talks were usually voluntary, as long 
as possible, thereby forcing the backward 
ones of their own volition to master their 
shyness. Criticisms were given from the 
floor by students rising to state a point of 
order. 

Parliamentary procedure is no mean 
acquirement. As each boy served in the 
chair in turn, power to preside and to 
draw the other students to the floor was 
cultivated. It was a surprise to find that, 
without help from a grown-up, boys and 
girls themselves were able to exhaust the 
contents of a chapter, each one drifting 
to the topic that interested him most. 



AN ENGLISH CLUB 31 

We always required the chapter to be 
outhned on paper, not only for the prac- 
tice in analysis, but as proof that the 
student had done his night work. As one 
by one his favorite topics were given, 
the boy was forced to search diligently in 
mind for the minor topics. Working in 
league with the presiding officer, we 
helped the latter to draw out the timid or 
to censure the poorly-prepared. 

To manage such club work, a teacher 
has to be in close sympathy with every 
student, especially to draw out the poor 
ones and to induce the naturally lazy to 
exert themselves. Each student must do 
his share. And he ought to do it volun- 
tarily, if possible — for the tonic effect. 
From varied experience in teaching both 
boj^s and girls in general courses and in 
college preparatory, we found a better, 
more conscientious response if we some- 
times threw the running of affairs into 
their hands. The teacher's own hands 
were amply filled, playing " Mentor." In 
a period of about forty minutes we had 
no trouble getting twenty-five " one- 
minute talks," but there was no lagging. 



32 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

The Club in Working 

" To-day we shall have the club," is 
announced with a smile. " Scott, will you 
please preside." 

A little boy with a wide, white collar 
takes the chair at the desk. He looks so 
much like the John Milton, whom the 
Cambridge students, on account of his 
delicate features, nicknamed " Our Lady 
of Christ's" (Christ College), that he 
makes us think of him as Young Milton. 

Young Milton takes up the gavel (a 
small croquet mallet donated by a junior) 
and speaks: 

" The club will come to order. We have 
talks on the life of Whittier. Who will 
come first? " 

This work comes during the first year; 
they have outlined the chapter for night 
work. An extreme sample of criticism is 
here given to show parliamentary proced- 
ure. 

"Mr. Piresident!" 

"Mr. President!" 

Two boys are on their feet. 

" Mr. MacLean," announces Moderator 
Milton. How punctiliously formal boys 
are I 



AN ENGLISH CLUB 33 

The other boy sits down and MacLean 
comes to the front of the room. He 
begins : 

" Whittier is remembered best for his poem 
' Snowbound.' It was written " 

*' Mr. President, I rise to a point of 
order," says a boy, who has risen to his 
feet. 

" State the point." 

" The speaker is not standing in the 
best position. He is on one foot and 
catches hold of the desk." 

" Stand farther back, Mr. MacLean, 
and be more upright," suggests the chair- 
man. 

" It was written about eighteen hundred 

and sixty-four and describes the fam'ly as they 
liv " 

Two boys jump to their feet. 

" State your point," says Milton to the 
tirst. 

" He mispronounced fam-i-ly. Omitted 
the ir 
3 



34 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

" Don't run syllables together, Mr. 
MacLean." 

" and described his fam-i-ly when they 

lived together at the farm. There was the 
father, the mother " 

Four lively members have risen to call 
for concord. The class is on the qui vive, 
alert and eager-eyed, practicing grammar. 

MacLean catches himself before the 
chairman speaks, 

" — There were the father, the mother, the 
uncle, the aunt, the school teacher, the elder 
sister, the younger sister and that queer 
woman who chased around Europe and " 

Nearly half the class are on their feet. 

The leader has decided which of the ten 
"Mr. President ". 's deserves recognition. 
So Allan Black delivers his criticism rapid 
fire : " ' Who chased around Europe ' is 
slang and it also isn't true " 

" Don't talk so fast," reminds Milton. 

" It makes a poor ending to his talk, 



AN ENGLISH CLUB 35 

sort of a come-down. And weren't those 
people rather awkwardly strung out? " 

The chairman nods. MacLean is on his 
feet the minute the critic sits down. 

" Mr. Chairman," he asks, "is it ele- 
gant language to say 'strung out'?" 
Then he sits down. 

" Mr. Chairman," speaks the critic 
pluckily, " I think ' strung out ' is all 
right. His was a formal talk; my re- 
marks were informal. ' Strung out ' is 
also a figure, suggesting a washline with 
the father, mother, uncle, and aunt dan- 
gling from it." 

For two minutes a hot and heavy dis- 
cussion clears the air of any sleep germs 
that may hover near. Boys particularly 
love such chances to apply their principles 
to one another. They do it good-humor- 
edly and are careful to avoid mistakes. 

It sometimes happens that there are 
remarks like the following: 

" Mr. Auxer, you may have the floor." 

" I am not prepared." 

" What shall he do, members of the 
club?" 

They sit quiet for a moment, then a 



36 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

youth who is also on the " not prepared " 
list occasionally, rises: 

" I move that he see Miss Bolenius after 
school and make up the work." 

" Second it," says another. 

" All in favor say ' aye.' " 

A suppressed chorus of " ayes." 

" Mr. Auxer," says Chairman Milton, 
" you may report at 3:10 and don't let it 
happen again." 

And it probably does not for a long 
time. Is it not funny that poor students 
are always hardest on one another! 

Here is another example: 

" Miss Colton, you may speak." 

" I can't think of anything." 

" Have you done your night work? " 

" Yes, sir." 

" Then you may open your theme book 
and look up a topic." 

In a few minutes Miss Colton, an ex- 
ceedingly bashful girl, speaks. The 
chairman urges her to come forward first 
next time before topics are exhausted. 

This club method made a Game of 
Grammar, where before it had been a 
Bore. It gave a practical use for rules 



TESTS IN ORAL COMPOSITION 37 

and rhetorical principles. Students like 
self-management; the club method offers 
that and often arouses a better response 
than the most efficient teaching can 
secure. It also seems as if they are re- 
citing before a jury of their peers. 

TESTS IN ORAI. COMPOSITION 

You may be surprised to find examina- 
tions in oral composition, but they are 
very necessary and very helpful. Classes 
can be tested in three or four Ways. 

Impromptu debates were quickly 
arranged, whenever the subject presented 
two sides. These tested the student's 
ability to marshal the ideas of the lesson 
and to meet opposing arguments. 

It was a popular plan to have im- 
promptu talks when we had a visitor. The 
first time, we were a bit fearful of the re- 
sult. The night work had not been in 
the line of oral composition, therefore each 
student had quickly to search his mind 
for an interesting subject to talk about. 

Were we not proud of that class! Like 
a man, and to a man, they came forward. 



38 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

while the visitor and the teacher sat 
quietly in the back of the room. Twenty 
spoke on subjects vitally interesting, no 
criticism of any kind offered. That was a 
rule in these tests. Then there was a lull. 

" Ah, Lucian, you are ready, I see," 
said the chairman. 

Now Lucian really was not, but he went 
forward and gave a good talk. Another 
lull. Two girls were dumb with embar- 
rassment. The presiding officer laughed 
to relieve the situation, then spoke as if 
talking confidentially: 

" Mary does not know whether to go 
first, or Martha. Suppose this time Mary 
goes first." 

Several boys smiled, but Mary spoke 
and Martha, too, both nice talks. Then 
came of their own accord the two most 
timid boys. How proud we were! And 
they were (secretly, of course) proud of 
themselves ! 

Another Game played with some classes 
ran like this. We had slips of paper with 
a question on each slip. These a boy 
handed around in a hat. After each had 
chosen one, five minutes were sriven to 



TESTS IN ORAL COMPOSITION 39 

think out and write down a brief outline. 
This forcing of opinion is good. 

Here are some sample questions : What 
book have you recently enjoyed? What 
kind of books do you like best? What is 
the easiest thing you can cook? What 
profession would you like to enter? What 
accomplishment do you admire most? In 
each outline they tried to tell why. It is 
a good thing to rake over the brain field, 
searching out and arranging facts. To 
do it quickly counts for much. 

With seniors, reports on outside read- 
ing were the most satisfactory tests. These 
ran from five to twenty minutes in length. 
Mrs. Bolton's Pooi' Boys Who Became 
Famous J and Girls Who Became Famous 
(in fact, all of her books) , Thayer's Turn- 
ing Points in Successful Careers and Men 
Who Win, and books of that sort, offer 
splendid material. While the report was 
being given, the class took full notes and 
thus got the preparation necessary to take 
notes of lectures in college. The speaker 
himself learned to hold in mind an outline 
of his address and to give it in as good 
form as possible. 



40 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

It was also good practice for certain 
students to give talks before other classes. 
The younger students then saw what 
progress the senior had made and the 
senior in turn practiced on new and criti- 
cal material. 

One of our honor boys came back for an 
afternoon during his sophomore year in 
college and gave in several half-hour talks 
to our students an account of how a course 
in extempore speaking is managed in col- 
lege. It was a practical lesson for him 
and at the same time showed our boys 
that the college and the preparatory school 
in the same big city were working along 
the same lines. 

Efficiency is the great watchword to- 
day. Let us give our boys and girls, by 
practical training in oral composition, the 
key to efficient speech ! 

SUMMAEY 

Chapter II brings forcefully to mind 
the question, Do our schools bring out 
a well-rounded development? It urges the 
teacher to regard the boy's manner in 



SUMMARY 41 

speechj as well as his words, for a pleasing 
address is a valuable business and social 
asset. Therefore, it insists that the suc- 
cessful teacher is the one who brings the 
boy out in all points. It shows that criti- 
cism must be cumulative and constructive, 
rather than destructive. By the use of 
suggestion it shows how such improvement 
can be made with slow pupils. In a word, 
the chapter appeals to the teacher to let 
the students teach themselves; to show 
them how to criticise themselves, thus 
making them independent of the teacher. 
By introducing voluntary response, it puts 
into the boys' hands a splendid means for 
developing will power. 

Furthermore, instead of following the 
traditional procedure in the classroom, the 
club method brings out a biisk procedure 
that is conducive to mental activity. The 
cooperation, the relaxation, the buoyancy, 
the moving-about the room, all tend to 
quicken interest; and if they quicken inter- 
est, they are in line with the best teaching. 
Criticism by members of the club, instead 
of by the teacher, furnishes a daily prac- 
tice in Grammar and Rhetoric. It demon- 



42 TALKS WITH OLDER STUDENTS 

stfates the use of rules and laws of effi- 
cient speech, tedious to the learner. The 
chapter shows how actual preparation in 
college methods can be given by using the 
by-products in the classroom. The best 
test of a method is its success with poor 
students; the good students will succeed 
in spite of a method. In conclusion, the 
sample lesson of the club in working 
actually shows how such a method is used. 
It demands improvement, accomplish- 
ment, actual progress towards the ideal, 
definite improvement in speech, noticeable 
by others in the class. In a word, it ap- 
peals for efficiency, for such English 
training as will be needed in life. 



CHAPTER III 

What to Avoid in Oral Composition 

Failure in oral composition may arise 
in managing an entire class or in dealing 
with the individual. Sometimes very little 
things turn the tide and change what had 
promise of brilliant success to dismal 
failure. Pitfalls lie in the way of the 
young teacher, waiting to trap inexpe- 
rienced feet. 

There are two ways to deal with pitfalls 
of any kind: first, mark them with a 
danger sign; secondly, if the person has 
fallen in, show a way out. This chapter, 
then, will deal largely with " don'ts." 

DO not fail to hear from all of the 

CLASS 

The great slogan of our public schools 
is, " Every boy his chance! " To manage 
oral composition successfully, therefore, 
the English teacher must have executive 
ability, the sort of generalship that will 
bring every student to the floor. There 

43 



44 WHAT TO AVOID 

must be no monopoly by the glib speakers, 
no partiality on the teacher's side. It 
is easily possible to give twenty-five 
talks in a period of forty minutes. If 
criticism is offered, it takes longer; two 
days may be needed to go round. 

Waste no time getting speakers to the 
floor. By ingenuity keep the talks volun- 
tary as long as possible; there is a moral 
tonic in a boy's deliberate choice to do 
something. If you have turned the class 
into a club, allow no dilly-dallying, A 
quiet haste and minimum of friction will 
bring results. So much for the students 
that are ready to do their part. 

" How about the timid, the backward, 
the uninterested? " some one asks. " Shall 
they be allowed to drift?" 

" Never! Use every trace of tact you 
have, every possible appeal, every legiti- 
mate trick, to bring them into the work." 

In previous chapters have been illus- 
trated several ways to induce students to 
take part. It is necessary to feel with the 
backward and the slow; to have that deep 
sympathy that makes them know you 
understand. One must play " watch- 



DO NOT SACRIFICE THE LESSON 45 

dog," too, and see that there are no un- 
necessary quibbles, no " sneaking " out of 
talks, no wasting of the time of the class. 
In our experience, it is a pleasure to state, 
we have found an almost universal interest 
and effort. 

DO NOT SACRIFICE THE LESSON TO ORAL 
COMPOSITION 

The inexperienced teacher is apt to run 
to extremes. If she does not know how to 
manage this work in connection with the 
regular EfUglish lesson, she will soon find 
in her zeal for oral composition that the 
other features of English work are 
suffering. 

"How are you to avoid that?" some 
one asks. 

" Easily," is the answer. " Make use 
of the subject-matter of the regular les- 
son, which was night work. A series of 
talks on a chapter of American Literature 
(for instance, the life of Longfellow) is 
nothing more than a series of topical reci- 
tations, delivered from the front of the 
room instead of from the seats. 

" Let pupils do the searching out of 



46 WHAT TO AVOID 

topics for discussion, instead of the 
teacher. Too long, indeed, has the teacher 
been the one to go to school, to prepare 
lessons, to search out questions — and to 
get the results of such mental activity. 
Why not let the boys and the girls get the 
same results! Let them teach themselves 
under your guidance. 

" Anything that is to be recited can be 
used as material for ' one-minute talks.' 
Correlate them with the other lessons if 
you can. Reports in history, civics, even 
chemistry and physics, can be given this 
way." 

Oral composition is not to supplant 
written themes. Both have their legiti- 
mate place, and, as we have pointed out, 
both can be used without lessening the 
work in the classics or in the text-book. 

DO NOT FAIL TO AROUSE INTEREST 

" What's the use of all this stuff! " ex- 
claims a boy on the first day in the Eng- 
lish room. "I'm going in for engineer- 
ing!" 

Now is the time to score point one. 
Instea,d of delivering a didactic harangue 



AROUSE INTEREST 47 

on the value of literature, it is more adroit 
to talk casually about conversation and 
good story-telling — to start preaching 
English on his level. 

Boys soon grasp the fact that a clever 
conversationalist is in demand socially. 
Telling a joke well is an art no boy de- 
spises. From joke-telling it is only a step 
to toast-making. Most young people have 
a secret thrill when they read newspaper 
accounts of big banquets and " celebrities 
speechifying." Some day they may be 
doing that, too! And speeches in class 
meeting — ^they had not thought of them! 
True, " the fellow who can say his say 
out in the most forceful way will win!" 
Yes, they begin to see. 

" And salesmanship," we suggest. 

" Why those people have to have the 
' gift of gab ' ! " blurts out a first-monther. 

" And doctors, lawyers, merchants — — " 
we begin, as if counting off buttons. 
"Why, boys! you can not help but see 
that talking well is so much money in a 
man's pocket and credit to his name." 

" You bet! " says the above boy, more 
forcibly than elegantly. 



48 WHAT TO AVOID 

" We'll put him out " — and four older 
boys grab him for expulsion from the 
English room — "he's using slang!" 

If we make students see that a pre- 
possessing appearance, a pleasant address, 
and a ready flow of words, help them to 
secure '* a job " more quickly and to ad- 
vance in the same " job " more rapidly, 
Tom, Dick, and Harry immediately affix 
a financial value to the English period, as 
well as a cultural. 

DO NOT CHOOSE UNINTERESTING SUBJECTS 

To kill interest in " one-minute talks " 
assign such subjects as Patience, Charity, 
and Nature. Only lively, timely subjects 
will pass muster with a group of sixteen- 
year-olds. Boys and girls are in their 
colthood, puppy days, kitten age, when 
the great Spirit of Play is king. 

Why not develop the boy's point of 
view? and the girl's? It is not possible, 
highly probable, that on subjects within 
their ken they are more at home than 3^ou I 
Then, since more at home, what they have 
to say has weight. 



DO NOT EMPHASIZE ONE PHASE 49 

Let the boy exult in his fishing and 
hunting and camping; let him give minute 
details about kite-flying and aeroplane- 
making. There is a great middle ground of 
subject-matter, interesting to boy, girl, 
and grown-up alike. Find the hobbies of 
the class and cater to them. 

DO NOT EMPHASIZE ONE PHASE OF THE 

TALK AT THE EXPENSE OF 

THE OTHERS 

One can not expect perfection, but one 
can look for a reasonably well-rounded 
development. In the second chapter we 
went to some length in showing that all 
four phases of a " one-minute talk " were 
important. 

We teachers have our hobbies, our likes 
and dislikes, our special aptitudes. If 
one is particularly fond of expression, 
there is a strong temptation to dwell 
mostly on voice and delivery. Another 
teacher may be a faddist about style, and 
sacrifice on that altar voice, deliver}^ and 
ideas. 

There are not many world-astounding 
4 



50 WHAT TO AVOID 

ideas slumbering under the cap of a six- 
teen-year-old-boy, but there may be count- 
less original bits and odd expressions. 
Therefore, it is well to keep the Four 
Track development constantly in mind. 

DO NOT ENCOURAGE '^'^ HOT AIE ^' 

How many teachers, when asked a ques- 
tion they did not know, rather than admit 
ignorance, felt all around the subject, 
punched it gently in the sides, scurried 
around the right flank and wound up with 
a stab somewhere near where they started ! 
They may have felt better, but probably 
no one was deceived, — they did not know 
what they were talking about. 

Students are very much the same when 
they are not prepared, that is, if they have 
" the nerve," a grown-up quality. They 
flounder about and indulge in " hot air," 
often to the admiring wonder of the class. 
We all know the bluffer! 

What will prevent blufiing? 

There are two ways. Choose subjects 
of vital interest and within the reach of 
the bluffer, and require outlines. 



DO NOT DRILL OUTLINES BLINDLY 51 

DO NOT DRILL OUTLINES BLINDLY UNTIL 
STUDENTS HATE THEM 

The " do " and the " don't " are some- 
times very closely joined. Outline work 
must not be made irksome. If students 
see that a well-constructed outline is to 
serve them, they are not apt to feel that 
it has enslaved them. 

An occasional impromptu outline in five 
minutes at the beginning of the period is 
good. When we wished talks thought 
out and did not care to use the substance 
of the night's assignment, we also gave as 
night work the outline of a talk. 

A teacher must develop a keen sensi- 
tiveness, so as to keep all lines of work 
carefully in hand, for she is driving more 
than a pair, — and not tandem, but abreast. 

DO NOT DISCOURAGE BY TOO MUCH CON- 
DEMNATION OR SPOIL BY TOO MUCH 
PRAISE 

It is a good plan to praise and censure 
equally. Too much censure makes a pupil 
self-conscious, stubborn, or disgusted; too 
much praise, on the other hand, makes him 



52 WHAT TO AVOID 

conceited and satisfied with what he has 
done. They are the Scylla and Charybdis 
in teaching. 

Discrimination must be used in the 
amount of praise and blame. Wholesale 
criticisms deaden; so does wholesale 
praise. 

" John, your voice is fine, so strong and 
well-modulated. Keep on and you will 
make an orator," we commend. Then we 
add, " But your position is very awkward. 
Hold your shoulders up and stand erect. 
We must cure that ! " 

Now John has two things to work for. 
He does not rest on his oars, not he! He 
tries even harder. Why, he might make 
the contest team! The criticism of his 
position was so definite that he can im- 
prove in that. How he straightened up 
involuntarily, whenever he saw a teacher 
in the halls! Vf 

DO NOT LET CORRECTION GO IN ONE EAR AND 
OUT THE OTHER 

The fault of Sodom and Gomorrah! 
This would not happen with a class un- 
less the teacher were very careless. It 



LET THE CLASS GET BENEFIT 53 

might happen with a single pupil, even if 
the teacher was a brilliant success. Such 
cases, however, can often be cured in time, 
as most abnormal cases can, if dealt with 
rightly. 

Keep a record of mistakes and good 
points that registers, as it were, the liter- 
ary temperature of each student. The 
words of criticism can be written down by 
each pupil below his outline of the talk. 
Demand eradication of these same faults. 
By the use of suggestion the .pupil can be 
led to overcome many of them. 

A good plan is to file away in card- 
board covers all of the written work in 
English, including the ground- work out- 
lines of talks; that is, let the student do 
the filing. The teacher can examine these 
each month and note the improvement. 

DO NOT FAIL TO LET THE CLASS GET THE 
BENEFIT AS WELL AS THE SPEAKER 

In our thousand years of education so 
much time has been unused by the rest of 
the class when the individual student was 
reciting. Why not have team play? 



54 WHAT TO AVOID 

While a student is giving his topical 
recitation (or talk), there are at least four 
diiFerent things that the class can do 
while they listen to him. First, they can 
take critical notes of the way he is talking, 
thus developing their critical faculties. 
They can be turned into a club and prac- 
tice parliamentary law by rising to a point 
of order and criticising the talk. This 
prepares for literary society work. They 
can train their power of analysis and 
learn to take notes of college lectures by 
outlining the substance of the talks. The 
business students ought to try their short- 
hand. Finally, their power of attention 
can be tested by five-minute summaries 
at the end of the period. 

It is wise to cultivate team play and 
combinations of work. Correlation pays. 

DO NOT BE DISCOURAGED 

Theory and practice in oral composi- 
tion go together; they can not be divorced. 
As teachers take up serious work in " one- 
minute talks " in their classes, they will 
find a great satisfaction in the way stu- 



SUMMARY 55 

dents develop, that is, if they themselves 
seek the tact, the sympathy, the liveliness, 
the enthusiasm, and the knowledge, to 
draw out results. 

Oral composition demands much fer- 
tility of thought, ingenuity of method, and 
systematic perseverance, if it is to succeed. 
It is worth working for, however, as suc- 
cess comes, and joy with it. 

SUMMARY 

Chapter III shows definitely how to 
combine various kinds of English work 
with oral composition; how to combine 
both praise and Maine; and how to get 
actual eradication of faults. It urges the 
cultivation of the 2??«^/ spirit, the use of 
team play. It insists on teaching from 
the boys' level. The pupils' plans and 
ideas must be made the starting point. 
The teacher must become a boy or a girl 
to see difficulties from the learner's stand- 
point. The chapter appeals for breadth 
in teaching, rather than onesidedness, and 
the use of all possible resources to attain 
the same. It emphasizes the connection 



56 WHAT TO AVOID 

of such work in oral composition with 
daily life, by attaching a social, business, 
financial value to effective speech. It 
urges attention to classroom atmosphere, 
to the spirit of the teacher. By pointing 
out actual pitfalls it tries to guide. Last 
of all, it pleads for the pupils to get the 
results that the teacher has taken for him- 
self by pampering his pupils intellectually, 
by doing the work they should do them- 
selves. It urges sensible use of outlines 
as a thought- clarifier,. 



CHAPTER IV 

The Choice of a Subject 

A LAW of affinity works in rhetoric as 
well as in life. The right subject attracts 
the boy or the girl and leads to a profitable 
further acquaintance. 

The subject is the germ of the talk or 
of the theme. The person who senses its 
value is the wide-awake teacher or the 
interested student. Since the medium in 
which it is to grow is the gray matter of 
the student's brain, suit the subject to the 
culture of the young mind. 

WAYS OF USING *^' ONE-MINUTE TALKS "' 

In four ways we used these " one- 
minute talks " effectively. In the first 
place, a talk was occasionally written out, 
memorized, and given in class or in the 
literary society. Since the gathering of 
ideas and perfecting of style were done 
beforehand, the student concentrated on 
his position, his voice, and his gestures in 

67 



58 CHOICE OF A SUBJECT 

delivery. He had a chance to work on 
oratory and expression. Such one- or 
two-minute talks can be made very useful 
numbers on the literary society program, 
because they offer a field for the young 
and inexperienced pupil. 

In the next kind of talk the student pre- 
pared his subject-matter in outline; as, 

Chaucer and' Johnson very unlike: 
I In description of persons, 

(1) Chaucer's are individuals, clear- 
cut, easily pictured. 

(2) Johnson's are types, too general, 
hazy. 

II In use of words, 

(1) Chaucer's use of plain, simple 
words, easily understood by the 
people of his time. 

(2) Johnson's use of ponderous high- 
sounding Latin derivatives, hard 
to follow. 

In giving this talk he not only concen- 
trated on delivery and position, but on 
style, on the phrasing of the sentences. 
How quickly the boy felt the disad- 



"ONE-MINUTE TALKS" 59 

vantage of a limited vocabulary! He 
began to pay attention to the structure of 
sentences, particularly if by diagrams, 
like the following, the various molds were 
placed before his eyes. 



TOPIC 
STATEMENT 








REASON 1 






REASON 2 


BALANCED SENTENCE 
(Contrasts) 


O 




o 


REASON 3 




> 
c 




REASON 4 










REASON 5 



In these two methods plenty of time 
was allowed for the assembling of ideas. 
The next two ways, however, increased the 
pupil's power to do his own thinking. At 
the beginning of the period we announced : 

" Five minutes now to outline a subject 
for a talk." 

All the better if they had not expected 
the announcement! This now meant 
quick thinking ; first, for the theme or sub- 
ject, then, for its expansion. When the 



60 CHOICE OF A SUBJECT 

class became accustomed to the exercise, 
they put their outlines in shape in five 
minutes. 

At the beginning it was wise to wi-ite a 
dozen suggestive subjects on the board 
for the slow thinkers to choose from, if 
their own minds were barren. They were 
urged not to take these subjects except as 
a last resort. While they were thinking 
and writing we passed rapidly from one 
to the other, encouraging and suggesting. 

For all of the above, subjects outside of 
the text-book offered the best material. 
Text-book matter could always be used 
in the fourth method — entirely ex- 
temporaneous " one-minute talks." These 
were nothing more than topical recitations 
given from the front of the room. A 
more difficult task and a finer test of the 
student's control of himself, his brain, and 
his tongue, were talks " hot off the reel " 
— no subject from the text-book or out- 
lined beforehand. This showed how fer- 
tile was his brain, how facile his tongue, 
in throwing ideas into suitable expres- 
sion, how easy his manner, and how pleas- 
ing his voice. 



"ONE-MINUTE TALKS" 61 

So much for the method of expression, 
now for the length of the talk. With be- 
ginners we limited the talks rigidly to one 
minute because time was consumed mak- 
ing suggestions, persuading the timid, and 
explaining. With older students one 
minute was also advisable because it in- 
sured every boy his chance. Much can be 
said in one minute. The famous Gettys- 
burg speech can be delivered in less than 
two minutes. 

Longer reports, from five to twenty 
minutes in length, were called for from 
the seniors. In a previous chapter we 
referred to certain biographical matter 
in which separate chapters furnished an 
abundance of splendid material. It was 
without doubt a tax on the teacher's in- 
genuity to work in such reports, but they 
amply paid in results gained. We 
always had them when the class work and 
the night preparation could profitably give 
way to them. The rest of the class in- 
variably took full notes of the reports, 
thus getting the training for college note- 
taking. Many a boy and many a girl will 
thank the teacher for familiarizing them 



62 CHOICE OF A SUBJECT 

with college methods. If the preparatory 
school prepares for college properly, it 
ought to prepare not only the required 
material, but the methods in use in college 
work. 

HELPING THE STUDENTS TO THINK ^A 

SAMPLE LESSON 

"What on earth shall I talk about?" 
is a cry we all hear. " I haven't a thought 
in my head! " 

" There are nine thought-producers I 
can think of," we begin. " Suppose you 
write them down for constant reference 
as we draw them from the class. Who 
will give one source of ideas? " 

Several hands are up. 

" Reading," answers John. " Last 
week I finished The Young Carthaginian 
and it told me a lot about Hannibal." 

" I read The Honorable Peter Stirl- 
ing" offers another. " It 's a good politi- 
cal novel. Isn't modern fiction as good 
as the old classics? " 

We discuss in a few words what makes 
a classic and the relative merits of the old 
classics and modern fiction. Then Mary 
Gray inquires: 



HELPING STUDENTS TO THINK 63 

" Are not the magazines good read- 
ing? " 

After a brief discussion of the kinds and 
grades of magazines, we decide that the 
classics, the best modern books, and the 
best magazines are valuable sources of 
material. 

" Don't you learn a lot from using your 
eyes? " asks Tom. 

" What do you call ' using your eyes'? " 

" Observation," blurts out a boy in the 
rear. 

" I wonder how many can describe 
accurately the walk to school or give a 
complete picture of study hall?" 

Some, of course, are sure they can; let 
them try, and see how soon they are 
tripped up by a more observant brother. 
Hold up a picture, then put it away and 
see how many have the details. 

" With what do we observe? " 

" The eyes." 

The explanation of perception brings 
the quick remark: 

" Why, we can observe with all the 
senses — sight, taste, smell, hearing -" 

We speak for a few minutes on cultiva- 



64 CHOICE OF A SUBJECT 

tion of the senses. How few of us have 
all the senses well-trained! The class is 
much interested in an account of various 
occupations, like tea- tasting, in which the 
training consists in greatly developing 
one of the senses. We talk, then, of 
scientific investigation, laboratory work, 
and decide that observation is the second 
great source of ideas. 

"What else? "we ask. 

" I learn a lot from Grandpa," says one 
boy. " He was in the Civil War and at 
supper we talk about all sorts of battles 
and things." 

" Yes, conversation is a profitable 
source. Do you remember the old phil- 
osopher who taught his pupils by asking 
them questions that made them think? " 

Before the words are spoken, our Greek 
boy has a hand up. 

" Socrates," he says proudly. 

A girl speaks : " Didn't they make 
more of conversation years ago? The 
French had salons "" 

We speak of the advantage of talking 
about real things, about getting the facts, 
as reporters do. 



HELPING STUDENTS TO THINK 65 

" What else? " we insist. 

Tom speaks: " Some people make up 
things — stories and books — out of their 
heads or tell their own experiences." 

" What do they do when they create 
those imaginary scenes and characters? " 

He does not know, so Mary answers: 
" Imagine! " 

Down go imagination and experience 
as great sources, with a eulogy of the 
powerful imaginations of the world. 

" Wouldn't a Physics book be a 
source? " asks a practical boy: 

" Yes, indeed; and a very authoritative 
source. In fact, all your text-books are 
the greatest source of all for- you just 
now." 

We review the sources: reading, ob- 
servation, conversation, imagination, ex- 
perience, text-hooks. Then comes the 
next question: 

"Can you tell me three other devices 
that will help you to force out thought? " 

A ready student answers: " Abstracts, 
or summaries of outside reading." 

" Making us form opinions by asking 
us questions," comes from another. 
5 



66 CHOICE OF A SUBJECT 

" Keeping a journal," announces Ray- 
mond solemnly. 

Summarizing forces a student to dis- 
criminate and give only the chief facts 
in the best order. Keeping a journal — if 
only five minutes a day — forces him to 
form opinions, to be observant. With 
some thirty students who followed the 
suggestion we noticed a great improve- 
ment in ideas and in quickness in marshal- 
ling them. 

We sometimes had little tests in form- 
ing opinions. We placed on the board 
five questions for discussion. These were 
both broad and restricted; as, "What 
sense has been most valuable to mankind, 
and why? ", " Do you think self-govern- 
ment would be practicable in our school? " , 
etc. The remarks were always interesting 
and usually sensible. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF THE GOOD 
SUBJECT 

The old-fashioned type of subject has 
gone the merry way to everlasting ob- 
livion. It is obsolete. 



GOOD SUBJECT 67 

In the first place, the subject must suit 
the audience. In this case it is an audience 
of school boys. A theological statement 
of the Eucharist, a medical description 
of Locomotor Ataxia, or a pedagogical 
monograph on the Psychology of the 
Child would be as unsuitable in the class- 
room as talks on flying kites, trapping, 
or playing baseball would be in a medical 
clinic. 

In the second place, the subject must 
suit the speaker. That is why a cut-and- 
dried subject is not so good as individual 
choice or a range of subjects put on the 
board or taken from the text-book. A 
boy, interested in mechanics, naturally 
drifts to that kind of subject; a girl would 
choose something different. 

The subject ought to be interesting in 
itself, so that it holds the majority in the 
class. It ought to be treated from the 
boy's or the girl's point of view, — not from 
the viewpoint of the grown-up. 

It ought to contain that elusive quality 
we call Human Interest; it will, if it holds 
the majority of the class. 



68 CHOICE OF A SUBJECT 

Finally, it must he restricted to 
proper bounds. This the class must be 
taught to do. 

A SAMPLE LESSON 

" What are you going to talk about, 
John? " we ask. 

" Indians " 

" Dear me, that will take a long time. 
You know books have been written on the 
subject." 

" With the early settlers," he restricts. 

" O — h! I see," we put in. " You are 
going to tell us about the treaties." 

" No," he says slowly. " I'm going to 
talk about the way Indians made war on 
the Colonial settlements." 

"That's fine!" we compliment. "Do 
you see, class, he has restricted his sub- 
ject, first in time (Colonial days rather 
than the present life on the reservation), 
then in place ( along the Colonial frontier 
rather than in the far west ) , last in topic 
(warfare rather than religion, appearance, 
etc.). That gives him something very 
definite to talk about and makes it easy 
to stick to the subject." 



SUBJECT-MATTER 69 

Then the students are given some prac- 
tice in restricting subjects in different 
ways; as, 

Schools : 

Schools in Greece; 
Schools in Greece in ancient times; 
What they studied in the schools of ancient 
Athens. 

Schools : 

Schools in America (Pittsburgh); 
Schools and their literary societies in Pitts- 
burgh ; 
Will our society win the contest this year? 

Schools : 

Schools to-day in England; 

Public schools in England to-day; 

The present day Eton; 

Queer customs at Eton to-day. 

SUBJECT-MATTER 

Draw from the class the great fields of 
knowledge — science, art, literature, his- 
tory, nature, biography, religion. It is 
also well to keep before them that popular 



70 CHOICE OF A SUBJECT 

definition of an educated man : " One 
who knows something about everything 
and everything about something." We 
are too prone to run to specialization with- 
out the broad foundation. Urge them to 
broaden their field of knowledge by read- 
ing, thinking, conversation, and observa- 
tion. 

For beginners, personal experiences 
make a good starting-point. 

" Tell who, when, where, and what 
happened," comes the direction. Then 
we outline on the board: 

Introductory sentence — who, when, where; 
Development — necessary details ; 
Climax — point of the story; 
Conclusion — how it turned out. 

Exercises in paragraph development 
are good: giving the topic sentence and 
letting students develop by details, by 
causes, by results, by specific instances. 
Recounting jokes and anecdotes is great 
fun and teaches dialogue. Descriptions 
of various processes, trades, occupations, 
etc., afford training in observation. Re- 



SUBJECT-MATTER 71 

ports on synonyms are profitable, as are 
paraphrases and talks based on the classics 
studied. Anything and everything that 
comes to hand is available material for 
" one-minute talks." 

Vocational themes offer incentive for 
the best sort of work. In the first place, 
pupils know what they are talking about ; 
they are familiar with the processes or 
objects from actual observation. Next, 
they feel that they are talking of some- 
thing that might be of actual value to 
them in later life. In this intensely utili- 
tarian age it is of little surprise that pupils 
would follow the tendency of their fathers. 
Subjects, therefore, taken froin work in 
manual training and domestic science can 
be used, and should be used by teachers 
extensively. 

The school paper can be used as a spur 
to urge from the students their best 
efforts. Such themes will be concerned 
with school life, with student affairs, and 
with student conditions. Is it any wonder 
that the things which lie nearest to the 
heart of the student body will be best per- 
formed — as pleasures, not as tasks? 



72 CHOICE OF A SUBJECT 

It is the near and the famiHar that 
interest the boy and the girl. They are 
passing through the stage when things of 
the senses make greatest appeal. There- 
fore, in choice of subject let us see to it 
that the objective is presented, not the 
subjective. English composition has been 
held back for years by the grip of the 
literary subject demanded by the college 
entrance examinations. The time has 
come, however, when the domination of 
this bookishness has been thrown off. In 
oral composition especially should the 
ordinary problems of life, the ordinary 
pleasures, the ordinary events be given 
the light of discussion. 

Every-day English deals with every- 
day subjects. Help the boy and the girl 
to find the interesting in common life and 
you make them more interesting in their 
conversation. That, after all is said, is 
the prime object of oral composition. 

SUMMARY 

Chapter IV gives practical suggestions 
as to length, kind, and subject-matter of 
talks. It shows the beriefits of the various 



SUMMARY 73 

kinds of talks. It encourages correlation. 
It insists that the subjects must he well- 
defined, and that the Enghsh teacher must 
stamp out faults in style by training the 
thought. Lack of clearness in style is 
due to hazy thinking. The teacher must 
therefore attack causes rather than re- 
sults. The chapter further puts into the 
pupil's hand a fine scheme of self-improve- 
ment by urging the keeping of a journal. 
It recommends outlines, summaries, etc., 
as a means of clarifying, organizing, and 
briefly expressing ideas. Best of all, it 
helps the flabby-minded to form opinions 
of their own — to become more than human 
oysters. The sample lesson shows again 
the teacher drawing material from the 
class. 



CHAPTER V 

The Debate in English and History 

" 'Tis^ too ! " 

" 'Tisn't ! " 

" 'Twasn't so ! " 

1 was I 
"'Twill be!" 
"'Twon't! . . . And I'll prove it!" 

Something argumentative is born in 
almost every human being. That love " to 
argufy," to reason things out, ought to be 
used in the classroom. 

A good debate arouses interest, quickens 
thought, and clarifies the same thought; 
it quickens and improves the quality of 
expression. The American spirit of true 
sport — to win for the fun of the tiling — 
is encouraged. A new use is given to 
classroom suggestions: that is, power to 
convince and to win others over to another 
view of the subject. 



74 



PARAGRAPH DEBATES 75 

WITH YOUNG STUDENTS PARAGRAPH 

DEBATES 

It is by no means necessary to hold 
argmnentation off for senior year. With 
young students — the first year in high 
school, for instance — paragraph state- 
ments of reasons should receive much 
attention. Such statements come up con- 
stantly in conversation and in letters. 

A paragraph limit means one phase of 
the topic ; therefore, unity is enforced. Let 
the proposition be stated in the first sen- 
tence and be developed step by step in the 
following statements. Rhetorical quali- 
ties can be applied to the miniature pro- 
duction as well as to the long debate. 

The following list offers available 
questions : 

1. Inventors are more useful to a com- 
munity than writers. 

2. Ought a boy go into debt for a college 
education ? 

3. Study of a modern language is prefer- 
able to study of Latin or Greek. 

4. A knowledge of French is of more use 
than a knowledge of German. 



76 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

5. Most young people should not read the 
newspapers. 

6. Winter is preferable to summer. 

7. Composition is more valuable to a stu- 
dent than arithmetic or science. 

8. Interclass contests should take the place 
of interscholastic contests. 

9. The country boy has greater advantages 
than the city boy. 

10. Libraries and art galleries should be 
open on Sundays. 

11. A year of travel abroad is equal to a 
year of college. 

12. The honor system in examinations 
should be adopted. 

13. Which should this city have — a public 
library or a public park? 

14. It is advisable for two students to study 
together. 

15. Secret societies in high schools are 
desirable. 

16. Canoeing is more enjoyable than sailing. 

17. Golf is preferable to tennis. 

18. Every school should have a literary 
society. 

19. Argumentation is of more practical value 
than exposition. 



PARAGRAPH DEBATES 77 

20. For the boy who does not go to college,, 
the commercial course is preferable to the 
college preparatory. 

21. Football is preferable to baseball. 

22. Term examinations should be abolished. 

23. Faculty supervision of the school paper 
is desirable. 

24. Two sessions in the high school are 
better than one. 

25. Should a good student be excused from 
examinations ? 

26. Faculty supervision of athletics is 
desirable. 

27. The elective system should be used more 
extensively in high schools. 

28. The school letter should be awarded 
for good scholarship as well as for proficiency 
in athletics. 

29. Students should report cheating. 

30. A vacation should have a profitable 
interest. 

3 1 . Student government is desirable. 

32. Drawing is of more use than music. 

33. Every school should have an orchestra. 

34. Vocal and instrumental music should be 
taught in the public schools. 

35. Betting is wrong. 



78 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

36. Military tactics should be taught in high 
schools. 

37. Roadside advertisements should be 
prohibited. 

38. College entrance examinations should be 
abandoned for a system of certification from 
the preparatory schools. 

SQ. " Uncle Tom's Cabin " should be ex- 
cluded from the school library. 

40. A sane Fourth of July, without fire- 
works, is desirable. 

41. The airship as a passenger craft is a 
possibility. 

42. High school students should be for- 
bidden to smoke. 

43. An orator in a city has more influence 
than a journalist. 

44. Good roads were the first need of the 
pioneer. 

45. Nature has exerted the greatest in- 
fluence in the location of cities. 

46. A college education pays. 

47. Training in citizenship should be given 
in the public schools. 

48. Does prohibition reduce crime? 

49. The microscope has done more for 
science than the telescope. 



HOW TO PROCEED 79 

50. A liberal education should precede the 
professional. 

51. Should a novel teach something? 

52. State supervision of private schools is 
desirable. 

HOW TO PROCEED 

Divide the class according to sides. It 
pays to seat them separately, if you can 
manage it quietly. Appoint a speaker for 
the period to serve as chairman, and let 
him call for talks from one side and then 
from the other. 

It is well to give a short talk on how 
to judge the debates. 

" Divide a sheet of theme paper into 
five columns. Over the first print 
speaker, then over the others in succession 
voice, delivery, style, ideas. As each stu- 
dent talks, insert under the respective 
columns, P, F, or G, which stand for Poor, 
Fair, and Good. In awarding decisions, 
then, we will count ideas 60 per cent., 
style 20 per cent., delivery 10 per cent., 
and voice 10 per cent. Add up and you 
get 100 per cent. Any other scheme of 
percentages would do. We shall see who 
come out best all around. It will be lots 
of funl" 



80 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

Then follow rapid-fire the affirmative 
and negative reasons, given with much 
zeal. Let me insert a sample page of 
criticism taken at random. 

Voice 10 Delivery 10 Style 20 Ideas 60 

Speaker Per Per Per Per 

cent. cent. cent. cent. 

Smythe F 5 P F 10 G 60 

Atkins G 10 G 10 P F 30 

Wentz PO PO PO F30 

Henty F 5 F 5 G 20 G 60 

Fairchild ... F 5 G 10 G 20 G 60 

It is an easy matter to add per cents and 
find that Fairchild leads with 95 per cent., 
Henty follows with 90 per cent., and then 
come Smythe with 75 per cent., Atkins 
with 50 per cent., and Wentz with 30 per 
cent. It is a good way to make students 
appreciate all that goes to make the good 
debater. For Good we usually took full 
per cent., for Fair one half, and for Poor 
zero. 

PARAGRAPH DEBATES IN HISTORY 

Paragraph debates are very practicable 
in history, where a wealth of material sug- 
gests for review such subjects; as, 



DEBATES IN HISTORY 81 

1. Aristides was a greater statesman than 
Themistocles. 

2. Homer has done more to perpetuate 
Greek ideals than Miltiades, 

3. The training at Athens was better than 
the training at Sparta. 

4. Greek history is more enjoyable than 
Roman history. 

5. Alexander's expedition was more of a 
feat than Hannibal's. 

6. Greece has contributed more to the 
modern world than Rome. 

7. Would you have joined forces with 
Caesar or Pompey? 

8. Ought Brutus to have followed the ad- 
vise of Cassius? 

9. Nero was guilty of burning Rome. 

10. Was Antony wiser than Brutus.'' 

11. The faults of Coriolanus outweighed 
his virtues. 

12. Was the assassination of Caesar justifi- 
able? 

13. Hannibal was as great a general as 
Caesar. 

14. Was Augujstus a greater emperor than 
Traj an } 

6 



82 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

15. Was the establishment of the empire 
wise ? 

16. The plebeian secession was justifiable. 

17. The Roman matron played a more im- 
portant part in history than the Greek woman. 

18. The American Indian was unjustly 
treated. 

19. The primary object of the Civil War 
was to free the slaves. 

20. The purchase of the Philippines was a 
political mistake. 

21. The Spanish- American war should have 
been prevented. 

22. Has war been the greatest civilizer.^ 

23. Arbitration between nations is desirable. 

Debate offers an excellent scheme for 
review, because it hits several birds with 
one stone. It rearranges facts ; it develops 
expression; it forces a preference, an 
opinion; it intensely interests. 

DECIDING PARAGRAPH DEBATES 

The wise teacher will often outline on 
the blackboard in parallel columns the pro 
and con arguments, as given. This shows 
students how to balance and weigh the 



DECIDING PARAGRAPH DEBATES 83 

statements, throw out the worthless, and 
by canceHing those that remain reach a 
fair conclusion. 

The young mind is prone to stick dog- 
matically to its own idea. It must be 
taught to modify, to yield, to accept a 
better opinion. The young student is 
apt to associate arguments with the per- 
sonality of the one who makes them. He 
will vote for John's debate, because 
" John's a good fellow! " Facts must be 
stripped of all personality. 

The following parallel outlines are 
taken from a debate on " Which is more 
desirable for a place of residence, the City 
or the Country? " 

The City The Country 

fModern TNatural scenery- 
Inconveniences [Beauty 
{Theatres fPure air 
Amusements (^Health 
(Best schools f Pure, cheap 
Education [ food 
[Churches j Outdoor employment 
[Rehgion (Health 
TMusical f Animal 
(^advantages l life 



84 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

PARAGRAPH DEBATES IN LITERARY SOCIETY 

It is a practical plan to break in new 
material — ^a young student — by placing 
him on the debate question, not as leader, 
but under the heading of General De- 
bate, to be limited to one point of view 
and to one minute. This familiarizes the 
beginner with debating methods and 
lessens his fear of the platform. His work 
on the paragraph unit prepares him to 
tackle a longer assignment of units, — 
which is the regular debate. 

It is well to insist that a paragraph 
debate be as carefully outlined as the 
longer brief. For the beginner it is just 
as big an undertaking. It should also be 
written up and memorized before pre- 
sentation in society, as that enables him to 
concentrate, while on the platform, on 
voice, delivery, and gesture. As soon as 
possible dispense with the writing up and 
memorizing, so that there is more spon- 
taneity. The general debaters can confer, 
and choose topics for argument. This 
prevents encroaching upon each other's 
territory. Let there be two decisions, one 
for the chief debaters and the other for 



PARAGRAPHS OF REFUTATION 85 

the general debaters. These will some- 
times be different. 

PARAGRAPHS OF REFUTATION 

To shatter an opponent's argument 
strengthens the student's own debate. A 
profitable exercise can be introduced to 
show the value of such refutation. Direct 
students to outline points on both affirma- 
tive and negative sides of the question, 
then to break down as much as possible 
the points on both sides, by. stating ob- 
jections, impossibilities, impracticality, or 
whatever lessens the weight of the original 
argument. The value of statistics and 
quotations from authorities can be dis- 
cussed. In dealing with paragraphs of 
refutation it is easy to arouse interest in 
kinds of argument, in such terms as in- 
ductive, deductive, analog^^, circum- 
stantial evidence, precedent, sign, hear- 
say, direct reasoning, indirect reasoning. 
Above all, do not confuse by introducing 
such terms until the class is ripe for them. 
Let it, if possible, gradually lead up to 
the terms. 



86 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

HOW TO PREPARE A LONG DEBATE 

" I'm on for a debate. How shall I go 
about it? " 

This is a sensible question from the 
student who finds himself on the pro- 
gram of the literary society for the big 
debate. Practical suggestions should be 
given to the classes and to the literary 
society. 

"In the first place, the question must be 
stated in proper form, — as a resolution, a 
declarative sentence, or a question. The 
subject should present two sides, and the 
terms should be clearly understood by 
both debaters, to avoid unnecessary 
quibbling." 

" Last week," breaks in John, " they 
were arguing different questions. That's 
what I told Andrews! " 

" The material should be gathered to- 
gether and thought out. If notes are 
taken, it is wise to observe authorities 
carefully. Don't plagiarize. Public 
libraries have so many college briefs on 
hand, that it is a simple matter to get such 
material, if the student is foolish enough 
to cheat himself. 



HOW TO PREPARE A LONG DEBATE 87 

" The brief differs from an ordinary 
outline in having complete sentences. In 
the introduction, state the proposition and 
explain what is to be proved. Then tell 
your method of procedure, — ^just exactly 
what you undertake to prove. In the 
short-story or the essay we conceal our 
outline structure, but in the debate we do 
just the opposite. You can readily see 
that the audience can follow your argu- 
ments more satisfactorily if you take them 
into your confidence and tell them before- 
hand the main points of your discussion. 
These are called main issues. Divide your 
discussion into several main points or 
phases of the subject, the fewer the better. 
Let the audience know from the beginning 
exactly what they are. In every para- 
graph put your topical matter first. 

" It is easier to listen," admits one of 
the girls, " if you know what the speaker 
is driving at. It 's very tiresome when 
points don't get anywhere." 

"Indeed it is! Eliminate from the 
brief all material not strictly on the sub- 
ject, — ^that gives a unified impression. 
Arrange your sub-points in a cumulative 



88 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

order, remembering, however, to start 
with something important. The emphatic 
positions, as you know, are the beginning 
and the end, — to catch interest and to 
leave the impression. Your arguments 
should resemble the links of a chain, fitting 
together but not of same size. To 
strengthen coherence, such phrases as, in 
the first place, next we say, then, too, and 
lastly, act as tiny links binding the big 
ones together. Look at Burke's famous 
speech and see these things for yourselves. 

*' The refutation is usually placed before 
the last point of the discussion ; sometimes, 
however, it is better to introduce such ma- 
terial whenever the objection might come 
up in the minds of the hearers. The con- 
clusion drives home an appeal for the 
arguments made in the discussion. It is 
the peroration. It is usually well to give 
a resume of the main arguments." 

" I've noticed those summaries at the 
end," volunteers John. " I should think 
they would help the judges, too." 

" Read Mark Antony's address over 
the dead body of Casar and see how he 



HOW TO PREPARE A LONG DEBATE 89 

gives his reasons very quickly, then 
plunges into the appeal, — ^to the pity, the 
curiosity, the gratitude, and finally the 
vengeance of the mob." The class has 
been studying " Julius Ceesar," and there- 
fore sees the full force. 

Some one asks about style. 

" The style of the debate can be 
strengthened by introducing interroga- 
tory, exclamatory, and imperative sen- 
tences ; by using periodic sentences for sus- 
pense, and balanced sentence^ for antith- 
esis. Well-drawn figures add vividness 
and force. Specific examples and illustra- 
tive matter are invaluable, for they give 
concreteness. Rhetorical repetition gives 
emphasis." 

" We saw all those things in Lincoln's 
Gettysburg speech," says John. " Now 
we are to use them ourselves. I see! " 

And he did seem to see, for he turned 
out a good debate. 

" One thing more," we conclude, " read 
it aloud when you are through. That is 
the best test of the oration or the debate. 
And revise thoroughly! " 



90 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

PROCEDURE IN FORMAL DEBATE 

It is customary to observe parliamen- 
tary rules in formal debate. The presid- 
ing officer is addressed as " Mr. Chair- 
man," the three judges as " Honorable 
Judges " ; each debater speaks of his 
assistant as " My Colleague," and of the 
opposing speakers as " Opponents." 

The first speaker of the affirmative 
opens the debate by stating the question 
and defining it carefully. Then he gives 
his 23oints of direct argument. The first 
opposing speaker takes up the direct argu- 
ments for the negative. The second 
affirmative speaker usually devotes him- 
self to indirect argument, that is, to ref- 
utation of the strong points of the nega- 
tive as he saw them in preparing his de- 
bate. Then he may conclude with a sum- 
mary of the full argument of his side. 
The second negative speaker gives a ref- 
utation of the affirmative arguments and 
closes the debate, leaving it in the hands 
of the judges. 

A caution to students is wise. Urge 
them to be honest with themselves in mak- 
ing statements; to play fair; to be accu- 



KINDS OF ARGUMENT 91 

rate ; to avoid hasty generalization, to re- 
member that mere statement does not 
make fact; to avoid objectionable contro- 
versy; and to bear in mind that their 
humble opinion, their plea or exhortation 
is not argument. Courtesy should be a 
part of the whole proceeding ; no personal 
feeling, held; no derogatory remarks, 
passed. If rebuttal is given, great care 
should be exercised to give only accurate 
statements. A good rebuttal is a tonic, in 
that it forces rapid thinking. 

KINDS OF ARGUMENT 

We are discussing arguments in- 
formally in class. 

" All argument does one of two things : 
it proves either the truth of a theory or 
the occurrence of a fact. And it does this 
in two ways: inductively and deduc- 
tively." 

" I always wondered exactly what those 
words meant!" says a thoughtful girl. 
*' We use lots of words, don't we, that we 
do not exactly understand ! " 

"Unfortunately, yes!" we answer. 
" Inductive reasoning gathers together a 



92 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

great number of cases or examples and 
makes a generalization from them ; deduc- 
tive reasoning, on the other hand, makes 
a general statement and then seeks to 
prove it by examples. Induction is the 
scientific laboratory method — we can 
thank Lord Bacon for it " 

" It 's what we use in chemistry," cor- 
roborates a boy. 

" — Deduction starts as a basis with 
principles and theories, believed by the 
audience. These might be in the form of 
maxims and proverbs, for they are the 
consensus of opinion of the many or 
opinions of authorities. 

"In proving the truth of a theory what 
questions would you ask of it? " 

" Is it practical? " answers one. 

" Is it useful? " volunteers another. 

"Why not — ^is it right?" asks a third. 

" Sometimes a thing might be theoreti- 
cally right but not wise to adopt at the 
time," suggests the first speaker. " Burke 
spoke of conciliation as being expedient." 

" You all are right," we answer. " Too 
hasty a conclusion from too few or faulty 
examples is the chief error into which the 



KINDS OF ARGUMENTS 93 

inductive reasoner falls. Analogy has a 
legitimate use, — to cite cases that are 
similar. In persuading to action this hold- 
ing up of examples exerts a powerful in- 
fluence, if well done." 

" Orators on special occasions do a lot 
of that," remarks John, " and so do 
ministers." 

" In deductive reasoning, as we said be- 
fore, we start with a general principle. 
The reasoning is in the form of a syllo- 
gism (write it on the blackboard), which 
in shortened form is called the enthymeme. 
Now a syllogism consists of two premises, 
called the major and minor premises, and 
a conclusion. Here is the threadbare 
example they give in old logic books: 

"'Major premise: All men are mortal. 
Minor premise: John is a man. 
Conclusion: Therefore, John is mortal.' 

" Notice that the major premise gives 
a general statement, which everybody 
grants, the all making it universal. The 
minor premise is a specific example in- 
cluded in the term all men, as one of the 
all. The conclusion is inevitable." 



94 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

" Why, it's just like a mathematical 
axiom," blurts out a brilliant geometry 
student. " What is true of the whole is 
true of the parts." 

" I suppose," says another slowly, " that 
the major premise must include all " 

" — And the premises have to be true," 
breaks in another voice. " Do they not? " 

" Yes ; and the terms must be used with 
the same meaning throughout or fallacies 
creep in. Sometimes it is verj^ hard to 
pick out fallacies, but it is much fun if 
you become shrewd at it ! " 

A MOCK TRIAL 

The " mock trial " is an excellent means 
of familiarizing students with evidence. 
Let the class or society issue a call for a 
volunteer to serve as culprit ; then appoint 
the judge, two lawyers each for the prose- 
cution and the defense, and make up a 
good story for each side. The first lawyer 
attends to the speeches; the second exam- 
ines witnesses, who in the meantime are 
instructed in their parts. At the meet- 
ing impanel a jury quickly, then examine 



A MOCK TRIAL 95 

the witnesses, break down testimony, give 
the lawyers' speeches, the judge's charge, 
etc. A lot of fun can be had from such a 
"mock trial." 

" To prove the occurrence of a fact," 
we explain, " we seek for evidence, which 
may be direct or indirect. Experience, 
testimony of witnesses, their observation 
and veracity well-tested, opinions of ex- 
perts, as the alienist called in for the 
murder trial " 

" Or a hand-writing expert in a forgery 
case," offers Tom. 

" — And a combination of circumstances 
— these form the evidence. A lawyer has 
a big job: he must first prove that a thing- 
is possible — " 

" That is why an alibi establishes a 
man's innocence? " asks a girl in the rear. 

" If well-proved, yes ; next, he must 
prove it probable — " 

" And that's why they always look for 
a motive! " Tom forestalls a reply with 
such enthusiasm that we do not reprove 
the interruption. 

"Yes," we say, "that's why! Then 



9G ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

lastly he mlist prove that it actually 
happened. There they gather all sorts of 
circumstantial evidence, signs. Elimina- 
tion plays a part, too, as it narrows down." 

A LONG DEBATE IN RELAY 

It is a good way to work out a lengthy 
brief by having each student do a share, 
not only in outlining the points, but in 
giving them in front of the class. Let the 
class decide on the subject, plan the main 
points in the treatment, then work up the 
topics independently. Seated on opposite 
sides of the room, the speakers can follow 
one after the other, so that those who listen 
will get a coherent idea of the whole and 
can compare the work of the various 
debaters. 

Political questions are not good sub- 
jects for general class use, because many 
students are not informed and the discus- 
sion is apt to become partisan. Subjects 
should be such that the common sense of 
the boy can deal with them. His own 
brain can furnish reasons. 

'A debate in relay can be managed in a 



SUBJECTS FOR LONG DEBATES 97 

period, with the talks given from the front 
of the room, and student- judges ap- 
pointed to draw conclusions. Or, if de- 
sired, a vote of the listeners can be taken. 

SUBJECTS FOR LONG DEBATES 

1. Grade crossings should be prohibited. 

2. Fortune-telling should be forbidden. 

3. The municipal government should sup- 
ply work to the unemployed. 

4. A large navy is necessary to the wel- 
fare of the nation. 

5. Moving picture shows do more harm 
than good. 

6. Strikes are justifiable. 

7. The acquisition of Cuba by the United 
States is unwise. 

8. The treatment of Shylock was unjust. 

9. Sunday baseball should be prohibited. 

10. Absolute freedom of the press is 
desirable. 

11. The United States should intervene in 
behalf of the Jews in Russia. 

12. Trade schools should be established in 
cities. 

7 



98 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

IS. Reading of late popular fiction is as 
desirable as reading of the standard novels. 

14. Spelling reform should be encouraged. 

15. Capital punishment should be abolished. 

16. Saloon licenses should be restricted. 

17. The Audubon Society work should be 
encouraged. 

18. Hypnotic entertainments should be for- 
bidden. 

19. Vivisection is justifiable. 

20. Police officers should be controlled by 
the state. 

21. Labor-saving machinery has improved 
the cause of labor. 

22. The ethical influence of poetry is 
greater than that of prose. 

23. The small college is preferable to the 
large one. 

24. Gymnasium work in public schools 
should be made compulsory. 

25. Women should have the right to vote. 

26. Food adulterations should be prohibited. 

27. Immigration to the United States 
should be further restricted. 

28. There should be a restriction of the 
height of buildings. 



SUBJECTS FOR LONG DEBATES 99 

29. The government should control railways. 

30. Lady Macbeth is responsible for Mac- 
beth's downfall. 

31. The evils of card-playing outweigh the 
advantages. 

32. Charitable organizations are better than 
private benevolence. 

33. Letter postage should be reduced to one 
cent. 

34. Pauperism is a crime. 

35. Irrigation should be carried on at the 
expense of the government. 

36. Electricity will supplant steam as motor- 
power. 

37. Inherited wealth does more harm than 
good. 

38. The office of poet-laureate should be 
abolished. 

39. The initiative^ referendum, and recall 
should be introduced into municipal govern- 
ment. 

40. Prize-fights should be forbidden. 

41. It is better for a boy to learn a trade 
than a profession. 

42. Hamlet was really insane. 

43. The novel has exerted a greater in- 
fluence than the drama. 



100 ENGLISH AND HISTORY DEBATE 

SUMMARY 

Chapter V explains carefully how to 
make use of the debate in short, as well as 
in long form. It shows how development 
of the reasoning powers will prepare boys 
and girls to cope with the problems of life, 
where there is conflict of ideas or of lines 
of action. Gullibility is characteristic of 
the masses. This chapter shows how the 
debate, if used systematically, can be 
effective in training pupils not to swallow 
statements whole, not to accept without 
question whatever newspapers and maga- 
zines print, not to confuse belief with con- 
viction, not to make wild guesses, not to 
exaggerate, not to decide by personal con- 
siderations instead of reasoning, not to be 
tools for others, instead of independent 
thinkers, not to see only one side of the 
question. These faults can be cured by 
using systematically the debate form 
in oral composition. The chapter shows a 
legitimate use of the love to combat, to 
convince, inherent in people; it presents 
the common sense method of gathering, 
sifting, and arranging material. It trains 
the critical judgment by presenting a 



SUMMARY 101 

scheme for deciding debates. It teaches 
students to balance by parallel outlines. 
A sample lesson acquaints the students 
with terms in argumentation, often diffi- 
cult for young teachers to teach. It shows 
a number of ways of using paragraph 
debates and furnishes subjects in both 
English and history. It emphasizes the 
need of debating in the Literary Society, 
giving the formal procedure for the long 
debate. It introduces innovations for 
classroom use, in Debates in Relay and 
Paragraphs of Refutation. It urges the 
development of the spirit of true sport — 
to win for the sake of the cause. It fur- 
nishes a valuable motive for greater effort 
in English work; that is, the power to 
convince. 



CHAPTER VI 

The Use of the Symposium in 
English Classes 

In ancient Greece the symposium was 
a conversational banquet or feast, where 
wit and wine flowed harmoniously. One 
can imagine Pericles, with Aspasia the 
brilliant by his side, presiding over the 
talent of Athens. Glowing conversations, 
such as Walter Savage Landor in his love 
of Greek culture divined, would strike the 
spark of response; the fire of opinion 
would be tossed from one to another, all 
taking part. Greek letter fraternities 
apply the term to their banquets, at which 
each man contributes his share to the 
evening's enjoyment. 

Students are attracted by something 
out of the ordinary. An enjoyable 
method of getting results has a strong 
appeal. Why not let the class hold a 
symposium? In the period allow a chair- 
man to preside, if you have used the club 

102 



SYMPOSIUM IN ENGLISH CLASSES 103 

method; if not, let the teacher preside as 
Toastmaster of the Banquet of Ideas. 

Preparation for such a symposium is 
a pleasure. Let the talks be voluntary as 
long as possible. Drop the regular lesson 
for that period. It requires system and 
quickness of management to crowd the 
program into one period, but it can be 
done easily in forty minutes. We have 
managed it in thirty, moving like clock- 
work. 

It is hardly necessary to speak of the 
popularity of the idea. In' our classes 
we announced the question some days 
ahead; on the day assigned, each member 
of the class voiced an opinion, backing it 
up with reasons. For a week before, inter- 
est is aroused in the school, because Sec- 
tion B or Class A has a habit of talking 
about things that reach their sympathies. 
The symposium is an excellent promoter 
of interest in classroom work. Try it and 
see for yourself. 

A SYMPOSIUM IN ENGLISH CLASSES 

To oral composition the symposium 
lends itself peculiarly well. If the class is 



104 SYMPOSIUM IN ENGLISH 

not too large, five minutes can be saved 
at the end of the period for second 
speeches to clear up ideas, strengthen 
opinions, or refute statements. 

On the blackboard tabulate in some 
form the opinions given ; in the last five 
minutes add up and announce results. 
That procedure, small as it may seem, 
introduces a profitable element — the de- 
sire to win. At other times five minutes 
can be taken at the end of the period to 
cast a vote. 

Suppose the class has been discussing 
" The Quality I Admire Most in a Boy." 
The names of qualities, as they are men- 
tioned, are put on the board, like so manj^ 
applicants bidding for notice. The stu- 
dent votes for the one he thinks has been 
most ably championed. You will find that 
usually he does not stick narrowly to his 
own choice. Three or four other boys may 
have advocated another in a more forceful 
way. This introduces another splendid 
element — the desire to convince others — 
to win them over to cast a vote, not for 
him but for the view he espouses. 



A SAMPLE LESSON 105 

A SAMPLE LESSON 

" On Friday, class, we shall have a 
symposium on ' The National Flower! ' " 
is the announcement at the beginning of 
the week. " Talk about it at home. Think 
of several flowers that would be suitable 
as a flower for our country, then plan out 
3^our reasons for suggesting a certain one. 
Be ready to express yourself clearly, to 
the point, in one minute's time. Go in to 
win! 

" We shall vote at the end of the period 
for the flower we think has been best 
championed. Here is a chance to win the 
entire class over to your way of thinking! " 

During the week there was a great deal 
of discussion. In the corridors, between 
classes, even sometimes in class, there 
would be a word or two. Healthy sign, 
that discussion! Reprove them for it! 
No; it was proof that their minds were 
working. The thing to do in class was to 
make the present matter so vital that 
Friday's lesson simply could not intrude 
— which we proceeded to do. 

On Friday a chairman was appointed; 
and a secretary, to WTite names of the 



106 SYMPOSIUM IN ENGLISH 

flowers on the board — with a stroke after 
the name whenever it was championed. 
These flower-candidates stood as follows: 

Lily Ill 

Rose Ill 

Carnation IIII 

Goldenrod IIII 

Violet IIII 

Daisy I 

Anemone I 

Morning-glory I 

Ivy I 

Edelweis I 

Laurel I 

In that propoa'tion had they been cham- 
pioned by the speakers. 

One after the other the speakers came 
to the front of the room and addressed 
their classmates. A strict time-limit was 
kept by the silent partner who sat in the 
rear of the room and took notes of indi- 
vidual perfoimances. 

He of the laurel was a Greek, making 
an eloquent plea for the mythological 
association of the laurel wreath as the 



A SAMPLE LESSON 107 

crown of genius. This was backed tip by 
a description of the beauty of native laurel 
in Pennsylvania. The speaker also sug- 
gested the olive branch as the sign of 
peace. The latter suggestion was over- 
ruled by a student's argument that the 
olive is not native American. 

He of the edelweis was a Swiss. His 
eloquent plea for the hardy little plant 
that clings to the snow-line was defeated 
by the same statement: it is not typically 
American. 

He of the ivy was a voracious reader of 
English history and spoke of the ivy-clad 
castles, — of Abbotsford, Kenilworth. An- 
other student later objected to the asso- 
ciation of " British " with ivy. 

She of the morning-glory heralded it as 
the common flower of dawn, which climbs 
upward as our nation has climbed, re- 
flecting glorious colors of arts and in- 
dustry. The objection was made, how- 
ever, that it is too fragile and short-lived. 

She of the anemone was a poetic soul, 
who loved the woods and made a modest 
plea for the wild flower, in-ging that the 
class be not caught by show and bigness. 



108 SYMPOSIUM IN ENGLISH 

Too fragile, was the comment of a later 
speaker. 

He of the daisy was a country boy, who 
described the struggles of the near-weed 
to attain its hardy growth. It was the 
star of hope that our nation would always 
lead. 

Those of the lily mentioned its inno- 
cence, its purity, its color the white of the 
flag. Innocence does not represent the 
country, objected some one. Another — 
it is too expensive, too rare, — a national 
flower must be so and so. Thus he and 
others laid down inductively the qualifica- 
tions of a national flower. 

They of the rose hailed her as the queen 
of flowers, as we are queen of nations. 
Her fragrance was the worth of the 
country; her red, courage; her white, 
purity ! Again was it stated that the very 
fact of her being queen of flowers disquali- 
fied her. She is too expensive, etc. 

Another mentioned the choice of other 
nations, — ^the thistle of Scotland, the 
shamrock of Ireland, the lily of France, 
the lotus of Egypt. Why not the carna- 
tion, he argued. 'Twas McKinley's 



A SAMPLE LESSON 109 

favorite flower ; was cheap, procurable the 
year round, long-lived; came in many 
colors, and offered itself well for decora- 
tive purposes. 

The goldenrod champion came out 
boldly early in the discussion. So com- 
mon a wild flower, its gold the wealth of 
finance and of brain, — the richness of our 
nation! What plant more hardy! more 
decorative ! 

She of the modest violet was joined by 
three others. True blue and odorous, 
wild and cultivated, it stood for all our 
native Americanism refined by culture. 
' Twas easily worn and procurable all 
through the year. 

And so they went. 

When the final vote was taken, it was: 

Goldenrod 11111111111111111 (17) 

Carnation 1111 (4) 

Violet Ill (3) 

These numbers show that the vote was 
cast upon the arguments pro and con, be- 
cause the four carnation champions stood 
pat, one violet champion came over to 
goldenrod, and the four original cham- 
pions of goldenrod were joined by the 



110 SYMPOSIUM IN ENGLISH 

upholders of the lily, rose, daisy, anemone, 
morning-glory, ivy, edelweis and laurel. 
It was a wide-awake lesson in uncon- 
scious speaking, no interiTiption for cor- 
rection, — in reality an examination in 
" one-minute talks." The assigned work 
of the day was not on the national flower, 
but on something else that could be joined 
with Monday's lesson. Therefore, no 
assigned lesson was lost. 

SOME SYMPOSIUM SUBJECTS 

The possibilities of the symposium 
method are endless. Let me add a few 
suggestive subjects. 

1. Short Cuts in Doing Things — in the 
House, the Home, the Barn, the School. 

2. Our Greatest American. 

3. The Most Useful Invention. 

4. The Book I Have Enjoyed Most. 

5. The Profession I Should Like to Enter. 

6. What Makes a Good School. 

7. My Favorite Sport. 

8. The Author I Like Best. 

9. The Quality I Admire Most in a Boy. 

10. My Favorite Flower. 

11. The Most Impressive Thing in Nature. 



SUMMARY 111 

12. The Quality I Admire Most in a Girl. 

13. My Favorite Study. 

14. My Favorite Character in Fiction. 

15. What Makes Happiness. 

16. The Most Dramatic Incident in Ameri- 
can History. 

The subject must be one that oiFers a 
range of ideas. It should draw largely 
from general knowledge, unless special 
time is given to gather data. It must be 
within the range of the class. Given these, 
you will have a successful discussion. We 
must always remember that things that 
seem thrashed threadbare to grown-ups 
are not necessarily so to younger folks. 

SUMMARY 

Chapter VI recognizes the development 
of personality and individuality as perti- 
nent to the English classroom. The stu- 
dents should be rated above the subject- 
matter and the varied endowments of such 
students be taken into consideration. Too 
often the classroom deadens personality; 
the boy or the girl of ego plus is harshly 
reproved instead of guided. The emotive 
state influences thought ; therefore, a class 



112 SYMPOSIUM IN ENGLISH 

plan that is enjoyable brings out the best 
thought. The symposium presents 
thought- provoking situations or questions 
for discussion. It arouses the students' de- 
sire to conquer through their ideas. The 
club discussion promotes sympathy and 
sociability, both aids to the best work. 
Personal responsibility is developed. 
Thought and discussion are carried be- 
yond, the classroom to the school corridors 
and to the home. The chapter points out 
that the teacher must assume the point of 
view of young people to manage the 
symposium successfully. The sample 
lesson shows exactly how such a plan is 
managed. The plan, further, encourages 
free discussion, independence of thought, 
a renunciation of personal views, if better 
views are championed; it forces out 
opinion, develops spontaneous eccpression, 
in the form of a plea brings out latent 
oratorical power. Yet it is a definite 
exercise in reflective thinking, rather than 
in spontaneous, because students weigh, 
choose, reject, before they submit their 
own personal views. Furthermore, it is a 
most potent use of curiosity, definitely 
directed. 



CHAPTER VII 

A Mythological Symposium 

A knowledge of Greek mythology is 
necessary in order to comprehend allu- 
sions in the English classics. Milton's 
poems abound in references, — ^more or less 
indirect, — to ancient mythology. Unless 
the student knows the details of the Tro- 
jan War, of the story of Orpheus and 
Eurydice, of Perseus and the Gorgon, 
he can not have full pleasurable compre- 
hension of such lines as : 

" That Orpheus' self may heave his head 
From golden slumber on a bed 
Of heaped Elysian flowers, and hear 
Such strains as would have won the ear 
Of Pluto to have quite set free 
His half-regained Eurydice." 

L' Allegro 

" Sometime let gorgeous Tragedy 
In sceptered pall come sweeping by. 
Presenting Thebes', or Pelops' line 
Or the tale of Troy divine." 

II Penseroso 

8 113 



114 A MYTHOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM 

" What was that snaky-headed Gorgon shield 
That wise Minerva wore, unconquered vir- 
gin. ..." 

Comus 

The symposium offers an entertaining 
means of getting mythological reports 
in history. Plenty of time must be 
allowed for outside reading and arrange- 
ment of material. Encourage pupils to 
vitalize their reports in all possible ways. 

Some announcement can be made: 
" We have an invitation here for the class. 
Harold, will you read it? " 

The class straightens up intently, as 
Harold reads: 

" The members of Section B of the 
Ancient History Class are invited by the 
Olympian Council to be present at a 
symposium Thursday morning, October 
twenty-first, in the History Room." 

" Why, that's here! " eyes are saying. 

" You may accept this invitation. 
We'll take the whole period. Let each 
student consider himself a reporter and 
take notes of what these gods and god- 
desses have to say for themselves." Then 
the class takes up the regular lesson, from 



A MYTHOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM 115 

which only a few minutes have been lost 
by the announcement. 

The next step is to pick out twelve 
representative students for the Olympian 
Council and instruct them. Keep such 
details secret — it adds to the zest — and 
put books in the way of the twelve. Each 
student is instructed to sift out the main 
facts about himself or herself, as assigned 
a character, then to condense them in out- 
line form and be ready to make a speech 
in persona dei or deae. 

When we had the ten-minute session 
after school to discuss plans, one piped in : 

" Why couldn't we represent ourselves 
as nearly as possible like the original? " 

"Go ahead!" was the reply. "Find 
out what was associated with the god, 
what he carried, etc. See if you have 
cleverness enough to supply them. You 
are to do this entirely yourselves! I shall 
only advise." 

What fun they had! What secret con- 
ferences ! What poring over mythologies ! 
What struggles to arrange and condense 
material into a fair description! And 
what curiosity on the part of the class, not 



116 A MYTHOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM 

actively engaged! Their turn came next, 
we had promised. 

The day before, we had appointed the 
onlookers lesser deities, and instructed 
each to print heavily the name on a piece 
of cardboard and pin it over the heart for 
identification. The Olympian Council did 
likewise, — as Jupiter, Mars, Apollo, Vul- 
can, Mercury, Neptune, Juno, Minerva, 
Venus, Vesta, Ceres, Diana. 

THE COUNCIL IN SESSION 

On the eventful Thursday there was a 
suppressed eagerness for history period 
to arrive. In changing classes the partici- 
pants were allowed to go to their cloak- 
room for a moment to get their irnpedi- 
menta. The guests — the lesser deities — 
were seated in the rear of the room. One 
by one, the Olympian Council filed in, 
Jupiter in the lead. 

" Look at Jupe! " whispered Cupid on 
the back seat. "He has a crown, a 
shield, and a bunch of lightning rods!" 
These were made of cardboard, covered 
with gold or silver paper. 

Jupiter took the chair and motioned 



THE COUNCIL IN SESSION 117 

Juno to a seat beside him. Mercury sat 
close by, and the others arranged them- 
selves in the seats reserved at the side of 
the room. There was a vacant space in 
the front for speakers. The king of gods 
and men picked up a lightning bolt as 
gavel. 

" The Olympian Council will come to 
order!" 

At a look from the silent partner, pens 
" got busy." 

Then the " father of gods and men " 
bowed to the assembled Council and to the 
lesser deities in the rear of the room, — 
Cupid, Bacchus, Pan, Pluto, Ganymede, 
Psyche, Triton, Proteus, Nereus, Proser- 
pino. 

" Gods of Greece," he began, " all obey me 
but the Fates. They are mightier than I ! 
On Mt. Olympus I live in a wonderful palace, 
have a famous oracle at Dodona, games in my 
honor at Olympia, and also a magnificent 
temple there. My father Chronos ate up his 
children, so my mother Rhea fooled him by 
giving him a stone instead of me. Hope it 
gave him a pain! I grew immense in a few 



118 A MYTHOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM 

days and made myself king of heaven. I 
punished Prometheus for stealing the divine 
fire with which he created the first man^ by 
chaining him to a rock \vith a vulture to gnaw 
at his liver. I can change my form at will 
and wander down to earth to see how mortals 
behave. WTien I was disgusted with them 
once, I sent a flood and only one man and 
one woman escaped. I have loved many 
mortals, lo, Callisto, and Europa, but Juno 
is very jealous. Victory is with me always." 

He bowed to his consort Juno, who 
bowed graciously in return. She wore a 
crown and held up a pasteboard peacock. 
In a short speech she admitted her jealous 
nature, but told how Jupiter dangled her 
out of heaven on a golden chain to re- 
taliate. At her wedding the golden apples 
of Hesperides were presented to her. Her 
daughter Hebe served the gods until she 
tripped with the nectar, and then Jupiter 
got Ganymede. Iris carried all her 
messages down to earth on a rainbow. 
She took an active part in all the affairs 
of men — and women, too. She was 



THE COUNCIL IN SESSION 119 

particularly hostile to Hercules. Then 
she made a graceful bow and sat down. 

" ]\Iinerva! " announced Jupiter. 

The Goddess of Wisdom, w^ith a paste- 
board owl pinned to her blouse, an olive 
wreath on her head, a loom in her hand, 
and a sword, rose. 

" Father Jupiter/' she exclaimed, " I 
sprang full-armed from thy forehead, but I 
brought wisdom to mortals and peace instead 
of war. When the great city of Athens 
sought for a name, Neptune and I both asked 
for the honor. He presented a horse, but my 
gift of the olive and all that it stands for, 
won. I am Athena, the patron goddess of the 
greatest city in Greece. The Parthenon is 
built in my honor. I am queen of the loom 
and no mortal dare surpass me. Arachne, 
who boasted of her skill, I turned into a spider, 
so that now she spins and spins nothing but 
cobwebs." 

" Venus! " called Chairman Jupiter. 

Aphrodite rustled to her feet, straight- 
ened the myrtle wreath in her hair, gave 
her elaborately embroidered magic girdle 
a twist and then addressed the chair. She 



120 A MYTHOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM 

patted her pasteboard swans and threw 
an engaging smile at the audience in the 
rear. Then she told of her miraculous 
birth from the sea-foam at Cyprus, and 
of her welcome at the hall of the gods, 
how they all wooed her, and how Jupiter, 
because she refused him, made her marry 
Vulcan. She really loved them all, she 
said, especially the warlike Mars. She 
loved many a mortal, too, for instance, 
poor Adonis. Paris, prince of Troy, pre- 
sented her with the Apple of Discord as 
the most beautiful of goddesses. She 
loved the rose and the myrtle, was at- 
tended by the three Graces, and drove a 
chariot of swans. The magic girdle made 
every one love her. 

" I rise to a point of order ! " Mars 
was on his feet. 

" State your point," said Jupiter. 

" Isn't it a bit irregular to take all of 
the goddesses first? I move that we hear 
now from three of the gods, and then 
alternate." 

Mercury seconded the motion and it 
was carried. 



THE COUNCIL IN SESSION 121 

" The God of War will now speak," 
announced the chamnan. 

Mars waved his spear around his paste- 
board helmet and stood his big shield be- 
fore the desk. 

" I am god of war," he began, " married 
to Venus and adored by the Romans," etc. 

Mercury hopped out next in a winged 
cap, shoes, and a rod with serpents (the 
caduceus). He told of his trickiness, 
which won him the title " god of thieves." 
He was god of commerce, he said, had 
found a tortoise shell and invented the 
lyre, which he gave to Apollo. He was 
messenger of the gods and usually mixed 
up in everything that was going on. 

Twanging on a cardboard lyre, with a 
laurel wreath on her curly head and a bow 
and arrow over her shoulder, the prettiest 
girl in the class impersonated Apollo and 
told of his adventures. 

" I was born on the island of Delos with 
my sister Diana. I killed the Python where 
the Pythian games are held at Delphi, and 
established an oracle nearby. Every morn- 
ing from the palace of the sun I drive the 



122 A MYTHOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM 

chariot across the sky, attended by the Hours. 
This is a picture of me !" 

The speaker held up Guido Reni's 
" Aurora." 

" My favorite haunt is Mount Parnassus, 
where I teach the Muses many things. Here 
is also a very famous statue of me ! " 

Then she held up a copy of the Apollo 
Belvidere. 

Vesta followed with a painted torch and 
told of her devotion to the hearth, the 
home, and the sacred fire. With a small 
sheaf of wheat on her arm, Ceres mourned 
again the loss of Proserpino and told of 
her love for the fields. She spoke of her 
two attendants. Flora and Pomona, and 
of the fact that cereals for breakfast are 
named after her. Diana was a boyish- 
looking- girl with a picture of a deer and 
bow and arrows. She said she was the 
Moon goddess who drove the car of night 
across the sky. Then she told how she 
and her brother Apollo had punished 
Niobe for boasting herself and children 
as good as the gods. 

Tapping time with a trident, Neptune 
came up next and described his wonderful 



THE COUNCIL IN SESSION 123 

palaces under the sea, his chariot of sea- 
shells, which rides the waves, and the 
creatures under his control. When he 
left, Vulcan limped forward and told how 
he came by the limp, how he lived and 
worked inside the volcanoes, how the 
Cyclops were his blacksmiths, his favorite 
haunts, Mt. Etna. He described some of 
the wonderful things he had made, girdles, 
chariots, armor, even Pandora. In his 
hand he carried a hammer. 

Pens and pencils had been busily writ- 
ing and eyes taking in every detail. Each 
face wore an absorbed expression, chang- 
ing at intervals to a smile when the new 
speaker held up his regalia. 

There was no doubt about the success 
of the period. The next time the Council 
listened and the lesser deities held the 
floor. We found that they associated the 
details about the god or the goddess with 
the previous speaker and remembered 
most of the details. The idea of imper- 
sonation gave a sort of dramatic appeal, 
and a concreteness that did much to 
vitalize the reading of mythology. 



124 A MYTHOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM 

SUBJECTS FOR A MYTHOLOGICAL 
SYMPOSIUM 

1. A meeting of the Olympian Council 
as described. 

2. With the lesser deities. 

Cupid, Psyche, Pluto, Pan, Hebe, 
Ganymede, Bacchus, Triton, Proteus, 
Nereus, Saturn, Chronos, Uranus, Fates, 
Furies, and Nemesis offer good materiaL 

3. The Trojan War, 

Portion out the story among a number 
of students, — the cause, the equipment of 
the Greeks, the stratagem of Ulysses to 
avoid going, how Ulysses found Achilles, 
the sacrifice of Iphigenia, the quarrel of 
Agamemnon and Achilles, the duel be- 
tween Paris and Menelaus, Hector and 
Ajax, why Achilles was angry, death of 
Patroclus, how Achilles killed Hector, 
the wooden horse, the entrance to the city, 
the violation of the temples. 

4. The adventures of Ulysses. 

These arrange themselves in such 
topics as: Ulysses and the Cyclops, with 
Aeolus, the disaster at Lames, in Circe's 
palace, with the king of the dead, the song 
of the sirens, Scylla and Charybdis, the 



SUBJECTS FOR A SYMPOSIUM 125 

oxen of the sun, the isle of Calypso, at 
the court of King Alcinous, the suitors of 
Penelope, Ulysses at Ithaca, as a beggar, 
the killing of the suitors. 

5. The Argonautic Expedition. 

6. The Labors of Hercules. 

The reason; and each labor taken 
separately. 

7. Theseus a7id the Minotaur,. 

8. Cadmus at Thebes. 

9. The Adventures of Perseus. 

10. The Wanderings of /Eneas. 

11. At Home with Ancient Greek 
Women. 

Their daily life, etc. Then the stories 
of such women as Antigone, Penelope, 
Cassandra, Niobe, Ariadne, Arachne, 
]\Iedea, Atalanta, Eurydice, Andromache, 
Plelen of Troy, Pandora, Iphigenia, Dido 
(as a visitor from Carthage) . 

12. Interviewing Aiicient Monsters. 

A short description of the following, 
with a picture, if possible : 

Satyr, Chimera, Sphinx, Titan, Cy- 
clops, Pegasus, Centaur, Griffin, Pigmy, 
Tityus, Enceladus, Briareus, Typhon, 
Circe, Siren, Scylla, Charybdis, Harpy, 
Cerberus, Sibyl. 



126 A MYTHOLOGICAL SYMPOSIUM 

13. ^ Day with the Heroes. 
Good for review. 

SUMMARY 

Chapter VII shows how a great deal 
of mythological story can he imparted in 
a short time. The mythological sym- 
posium proves that students themselves 
can gather material, sift, organize and 
present it in attractive speech. Many 
teachers by insisting on managing such 
outside work themselves deprive the 
pupils of the benefits that should be theirs. 
The chapter shows how responsibility will 
expand the jrupils' powers; how intense 
application comes from interest in a sub- 
ject without the teacher's aid, if there 
is the chance of self-expression. It is a 
most legitimate use of the dramatic ex- 
pression ; it quickens wit, gives confidence 
to those who are timid, miniinizes the labor 
of reports and develops a love of study. 
It gives a zest and enthusiasm to class- 
room work, demands rapidity of pro- 
cedure, develops class pride, and, best of 
all, makes the students independent of the 
teacher. 



CHAPTER VIII 

Oral Composition in History 

The history text-book gives the skele- 
ton of the subject; outside reading builds 
flesh and blood. The former is largely 
dry bones of fact; the latter vitalizes the 
period. Since the best colleges demand 
this reference reading before certificate 
(rights of entrance are given, how can it 
be done most satisfactorily? . 

The first requirement is the library. 

If the school is in a large city, the 
public library will furnish books, requir- 
ing monthly reports on the use. This 
entails no expense, except for loss of 
books, for which students concerned can 
be taxed. Arrangements can often be 
made to have books forwarded by express, 
expenses to be paid by the applicant. 

REFERENCE READING AND THE TEKT-BOOK 

The next problem for the teacher is: 
How to systematize reference reading in 
connection with the tCcVt-hook. 

127 



128 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

To plunge a first-year class of history 
students into full reference reading, with 
notes, bibliography and reports, is unwise, 
because they do not know a bibliography 
from a bibliophile ; they can not take notes 
intelligently; they are timid and inco- 
herent in giving reports. Reference read- 
ing, therefore, must be cumulative; it 
must be worked up gradually. 

At the beginning of the year, then, the 
text-book might demand most of the time 
of preparation, because it not only is 
difficult in itself but introduces a new 
field with unpronounceable words. There 
ought to be special training in accurate 
regard for truth, therefore it is often 
profitable in the first term's work (study 
of the Eastern nations and Greece) to 
outline the chapters by topics. This de- 
velops power of analysis, — in weighing 
and arranging facts. 

English and geography should con- 
stantly be correlated with history. Spell- 
ing and pronouncing lessons help wonder- 
fully with the proper names. A time- 
saving method is as follows: fold theme 



BEGINNING OUTSIDE READING 129 

paper vertically ; write in the first column, 
as the teacher dictates, the new proper 
words of the chapter; on the next day 
write these same words from dictation in 
the second column and correct them by 
comparing the two columns. 

Good free-hand maps should be insisted 
upon, and the use of crayons encouraged. 
It pays to have students file awaj^ all 
written work in history at the end of the 
month in cardboard covers, on which they 
have sketched appropriate designs. These 
folders of work can be left in the teacher's 
caire until reviews for examinations, when 
pupils find the topical outlines of use. 

BEGINNING THE OUTSIDE READING 

Begin the outside reading in the first 
term by a bit of home work on the Old 
Testament to illustrate the life of the 
Hebrews, — no attempt to keep records, 
just to report spontaneously. 

In Greek history go a step further. 
Explain how a bibliography may be kept 
— author's name, title of book, number of 
9 



130 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

pages read, and the main topics. For 
example — 

Guerber: Story of the Greeks, pp. 104— 1S6, 
Persian Wars. 

Fling: Source Book of Greek History, pp. 
144—156, Age of Pericles. 

Set the slow students at easy reading, 
like Guerber's Story of the Greeks, and 
keep the mature books for the more de- 
veloped minds. Direct pupils to spend 
about ten minutes a day on the reference 
reading, and the rest of the time on the 
text. Post references on the blackboard 
about every two weeks. 

Pay most attention to mythology, the 
Trojan War, etc., and to interesting bits 
of biography. Dwell on the human inter- 
est side; try to create Greek atmosphere 
rather than to search out additional facts. 
Do not nail down beginners to a fuller 
record of such reading than a scant bibli- 
ography, or they may dislike the reading, 
and that is fatal. Let them, rather, learn 
to read rapidly, to enjoy the reading, and 
to talk freely about it. 



TALKS: REPORTS OF READING 131 

^'one-minute talks ''^ FOR REPORTS OF 
READING 

In the second term's work (Roman his- 
tory) pique the pride of the class by the 
statement that they are to have " grown- 
up " reference reading. Several inspir- 
ing years with large classes of boys in an 
academy prompt me to describe how we 
got splendid results. 

In this second term we completely 
changed our method of work. Instead of 
outlining Wolf son (Wolf son's Essentials 
of Ancient History) we took a whole 
chapter at a time for rapid home reading 
and in one-minute talks had the ground- 
work of the chapter given in class. In 
doing this students were forced to develop 
power to read rapidly and to recall salient 
features. There was no written work on 
the text-book except maps, lists, charts, 
themes, etc., no continuous outlines as 
before. 

For the next three or four days refer- 
ence reading, based on the chapter, was 
assigned. This reading was now as care- 
fully outlined as the chapter in the text- 
book had been, but with less detail; and 



132 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

a much larger bibliography was kept. 
At each history period in these four days, 
then, each student reported on his read- 
ing for the day, which was done in school 
hours. 

Often we reversed the order and took 
reference reading first, winding up with 
the text-book. Use of these two methods 
familiarized the students with inductive 
and deductive methods of attack, with 
analysis and synthesis. 

THE HISTORICAL SPIRIT 

But the greatest achievement of the 
class was catching " the historical spirit." 
To aid in this, we schemed out a ten-sided 
ideal, as follows: 

I. Learn rapid reading. 
II. Learn rapid note-taking. 
III. Learn to make a bibliography and to 

gather material from sources. 

IV. Train not only the memory for details 

but power of analysis, reasoning, 

and stick-to-it-ive-ness. 

V. Do further historical reading at home. 

VI. Search beneath the fact for the cause. 



THE HISTORICAL SPIRIT 133 

VII. Appreciate the personal element. 
VIII. Develop a critical attitude; make com- 
parisons with Greek history and 
with modern conditions. 
IX. Try to understand contradictory state- 
ments, to search out sources. 
X. By daily practice in " one-minute 
talks " make yourselves ready and 
self-reliant in discussion, and able 
to face an audience. 

And we did those ten things; even the 
poorest student greatly improved in his 
effort. It was not easy to manage, be- 
cause we tried to have the class teach 
themselves. In other words, we resolved 
them into a history club (you know how 
"club" appeals to a boy!) with the 
teacher as silent partner and a different 
boy each day in the presidential chair. 
They had a practical appreciation of, and 
respect for, parliamentary law. Oral 
composition in the form of talks was the 
method for reports. At intervals there 
were spirited quizzes and examinations, 
when the " club " was temporarily set 
aside. 



134 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

RESULTS 

We have at hand slips of paper con- 
taining the books used by each student in 
Roman history. For the poorest student 
the number is eight; for the best, sixteen, 
with eight biograpliies and historical 
novels extra. The average is thirteen. 
Thirteen authors with whom they were 
familiar! Thirteen books over which 
they had closely pored! 

A book became more than a mere book. 
It became the product of an author. 
Furthermore, the boys became very 
shrewd in weighing the antecedents and 
relative authority of these same authors. 
Their respect for the work of an historian 
grew. 

We should like to tell you more of the 
olub management, with the hot debates, 
the tracing of statements back to sources, 
the delight in learning things for them- 
selves instead of having them thrust down 
their intellectual throats; we should like 
you to spend a class period with them and 
see for yourself the parliamentary disci- 
pline, but, as Kipling says, " that's an- 
other story! " 



ROMAN HISTORY 135 

In conclusion, is added the list of read- 
ings for Roman history as it may be sug- 
gestive to teachers. 

OUTSIDE READING ROMAN HISTORY 

/. The Early Kings 

Guerber: Story of the Romans, pp. 11— 69. 
Church: Stories from Livy, pp. 12-90. 
Morris: Historical Tales; Roman, pp. 7—42. 
Haaren and Poland: Famous Men of Rome, 

pp. 9-57. 
Laing: Heroes of the Seven Hills, pp. 11—38. 
Bonner: Child's History of Rome, pp. 13—71. 
Butterworth: Little Arthur's History of 

Rome, pp. 3—52. 
Yonge: Popular History of Rome, pp. 13-54. 
Oilman : Story of Rome, pp. 1-68. 
Goodspeed: History of the Ancient World, 

pp. 240-264. 
Clough: Plutarch's Lives of Illustrious Men, 

pp. 13-28 (large Plutarch). 
Kaufman: Our Young Folks' Plutarch, pp. 

30-40 (small Plutarch). 
Collins: Livy, pp. 15-29. 
Munro: Source Book of Roman History, 

pp. 2-5. 



136 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

//. The Early Republic and Struggle of the 
Classes 

Church: pp. 9I-I6I. 

Livy: pp. 30-58. 

Gilman: pp. 69-97. 

Morris: pp. 43-74. 

Yonge: pp. 55-100. 

Plutarch (small) : 75-85. 

Laing: pp. 39-137. 

Butterworth: pp. 55-77. 

Haaren and Poland: pp. 58-81. 

Bonner: pp. 72-113. 

Plutarch (large) : 153—169. 

Guerber: pp. 69—98. 

Goodspeed: pp. 265-278. 

Gilman: Magna Charta Stories, pp. 23-37, 

37-52. 
MuNRo: pp. 41-52, 53-64, 66-72. 

///. Early Conquests to the Punic Wars 

Church: pp. 162-277. 

Livy: pp. 58-106. 

Gilman: pp. 98-125. 

Morris: pp. 75-125. 

Yonge: pp. 101-150. 

Plutarch (small): pp. 141-153,243-253. 



ROMAN HISTORY 137 

Laing: pp. 163-190, 198-228, 291-302, 309- 

367. 
Butterworth: pp. 78-88. 

Haaren and Poland: pp. 82-113. 

Bonner: pp. 114-167. 

Plutarch (large): pp. 90-106, 275-291. 

Guerber: pp. 98-121. 

Goodspeed: pp. 279-289- 

MuNRo: pp. 72-77. 

IV. The Punic Wars 

Livy: pp. 107-153. 

Gilman: pp. 126—148. 

Gilman: Magna Charta Stories, pp. 106—122. 

MoRRLs: pp. 126-164. 

Goodspeed: pp. 300-309. 

Yonge: pp. 151-180. 

Guerber: pp. 121-142. 

Plutarch (small): pp. 275-285, 285-295, 

309-318. 
Butterworth: pp. 83-95. 
Haaren and Poland: pp. 114—140. 
Bonner: pp. 168-241. 
Plutarch (large): pp. 124-135, 216-229, 

242-256. 
Church: pp. 3-34, 35-45, 95-125, 129-165, 

178-224, 225-264^ 265-301. 



138 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

Shuckburgh: The Histories of Polybius, pp. 

9-114, 132-133, 166-275, 525-534, 550- 

562, 564-574, 582-586. 
MuNRo: pp. 78-91. 

V. Romans in the East 

Livy: pp. 154-182. 

Oilman: pp. 148-166. 

Yonge: pp. 181-194. 

Guerber: pp. 142-148. 

Plutarch (small): pp. 253-262, 262-268, 

268-275, 302-309, 318-330. 
Plutarch (large) : pp. 724-742, 568-575, 

575-588, 264-274, 188-202. 

Goodspeed: pp. 311-319. 
MuNRo: pp. 93-102. 

VI. The Gracchi — Marius — Sulla 

Oilman: pp. 167-197. 

MuNRo: pp. 124-166. 

Yonge: pp. 195-228. 

MuNRo: pp. 104-106. 

Morris: pp. 164-197. 

Goodspeed: pp. 331-343. 

Bonner: pp. 242-274. 

Haaren and Poland: pp. 142-170. 

Guerber: pp. 148-170. 



ROMAN HISTORY 139 

Plutarch (small): Tiberius Gracchus, pp. 
330-337. 

Caius Gracchus, pp. 337-343. 

Marius, pp. 343-358. 

Sulla, pp. 358-365. 
Butterworth: pp. 96-100. 
Oman: Seven Roman Statesmen: T. Grac- 
chus, pp. 1-50. 

C. Gracchus, pp. 51-88. 

Marius, pp. 89-161. 

Sulla, pp. 116-161. 
Plutarch (large): T. Gracchus, pp. 588- 
596. 

C. Gracchus, pp. 597-604. 

Marius, pp. 291-309. 

Sulla, pp. 321-339. 

VII. Pompey — Ccesar — To the Empire 

Gilman: pp. 198-230,231-270. 

Yonge: pp. 228-272. 

Morris: pp. 198-235. 

Goodspeed: pp. 343-357. 

Bonner: pp. 275-307. 

Haaren and Poland: pp. 171-208. 

Guerber: pp. 165-197. 



140 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

Plutarch (small) : Crassus, pp. 365—376. 

Pompey, pp. 385-398. 

Cicero, pp. 398-406. 

Caesar, pp. 406-418. 

Brutus, pp. 429-438. 

Antony, pp. 438—445. 
Butterworth: pp. 100-110, 113-118, 125- 

135. 
Oman: Crassus, pp. 162-203. 

Cato, pp. 204-233. 

Pompey, pp. 234-288. 

Caesar, pp. 289-340. 
Bury: Student's Roman Empire, pp. 1-11. 
Walsh: Roman Empire, pp. 11-23. 
Clarke: Caesar, pp. 7-91, 91-148, 149-173. 
Bonner: Vol. 2, pp. 3-48. 
Plutarch (large) : Crassus, pp. 383-398. 

Pompey, pp. 436—471. 

Cicero, pp. 617-634. 

Csesar, pp. 505-529. 

Brutus, pp. 703-724. 

Antony, pp. 655-683. 

Cato, pp. 543-568. 
Church: Roman Life and Story, pp. 1-9. 

Roman Life in the Days of Cicero, pp. 
1-63, 64-129, 130-192, 193-247, 248- 
292. 
MuNRO: pp. 124-131, 131-141. 



ROMAN HISTORY 141 

VIII. The Early Emperors 

Goodspeed: pp. 357-365, 370-381, 394-396. 

Yonge: pp. 273-316. 

Morris: pp. 236-318. 

Haaren and Poland: pp. 209—235. 

Guerber: pp. 197-238. 

Butterworth: pp. 135—177. 

Bury: pp. 12—412 (leaf over rapidly). 

Walsh: Augustus, pp. 23—44. 

Tiberius, pp. 44—92. 

Caligula, pp. 92-100. 

Claudius, pp. 101-112. • 

Nero, pp. 112-135. 

Galba, Otho, Vitellius, pp. 136-158. 

Vespasian, Titus, Domitian, pp. 158-175. 
Bonner: Vol. 2, Augustus — Nero, pp. 49-92. 

Nero, pp. 93-130. 
Gibbon: Decline and Fall of the Roman 

Empire (selections). 
Church: Roman Life and Story, pp. 31-76, 

77-116, 148-192, 193-252. 
MuNRo: pp. 143-152, 153-162. 

IX. The Good Emperors of the Second Century 

Goodspeed: pp. 397—403. 
Yonge: pp. 317-325. 



142 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

Haaren and Poland: pp. 236-253. 
Guerber: pp. 239-251. 
Butterworth: pp. 181—207. 
Brooks: Historic Boys^ pp. 1-24. 
Bury: pp. 413-456, 490-550. 
Walsh: Nerva — Trajan, pp. 176-187. 
Hadrian — Antonines, pp. 187-206. 
Bonner, vol. 2: pp. 131-159- 
Gibbon: (selections). 

Church : Roman Life and Story, pp. 300-344. 
MuNRo: pp. 165-174. 

X. The Later Emperors 

Goodspeed: pp. 409—412, 416-426. 

Yonge: pp. 326-382. 

Morris: pp. 319-324. 

Haaren and Poland: pp. 254-269. 

Guerber: pp. 251-273. 

Butterworth: pp. 208-220, 238-256. 

Walsh: Commodus — Severus, pp. 207-232. 

Caracalla — Alexander Severus, pp. 233- 
258. 

Maximin, etc., pp. 258-288. 

Claudius II, etc., pp. 288-321. 

Diocletian, pp. 322-363. 

Constantine, pp. 363-401. 



ROMAN HISTORY 14S 

Bonner, vol. 2: Commodus, pp. 159-194. 

Maximin — Diocletian, pp. 195—231. 

Diocletian, pp. 232-263. 
Gibbon: Selected paragraphs. 
MuNRo: pp. 174-178. 

XI. The Barbaric Invasions 

Goodspeed: pp. 426-455. 

Yonge: pp. 383-443. 

Morris: pp. 325-340. 

Guerber: pp. 273-278. 

Oilman: Magna Charta Stories, pp. 157-182. 

Walsh: pp. 401-420, 420-441, 441-458, 

458-478. 
Bonner, vol. 2 : pp. 264-305. 
Gibbon: Selected paragraphs. 

XII. Roman Life 

Goodspeed: pp. 289-299, 320-333, 365-370, 

383-394, 403-407, 412-415. 
Guerber: pp. 142-148. 
BuTTERWoRTH : pp. 113-147, 200-207, 221- 

237. 
Oilman: pp. 271-332. 
Bury: pp. 457-488, 550-626. 
Gibbon : Selected paragraphs. 



144 ORAL COMPOSITION IN HISTORY 

WiLKiNs: Classical Antiquities^ Roman. 
Preston and Dodge: Private Life of the 
Romans : 
Family^ house and life, pp. 1—57. 
Classes, food and clothes, pp. 57-105. 
Agriculture, travel, etc., pp. 105—157. 
Church: Roman Life and Story, pp. 10-30. 
MuNRo: pp. 179-192, 193-206, 206-216, 

217-237, 8-21, 23-40. 
Pliny : Translation : 

Bk. II, pp. 9-31, Bk. Ill, pp. 37-57, 

Bk. IV, pp. 60-84, 84-102, Bk. V, pp. 

104-120, Bk. VII, pp. 180-204, 204- 

226, Bk. VIII, pp. 232-250, Bk. IX, 

pp. 292-326, Intro, pp. 9-31. 

BuTTERvroRTH : Zigzag Journeys, pp. 190- 

200, 201-218, 219-247, 248-265, 266- 

296. 

SUMMARY 

Chapter VIII emphasizes that history 
teaching should not he mere mechanical 
acquisition of facts, but an organic de- 
velopment, — ^in other words, thinking. It 
also urges that pupils must he taught how 
to study, so that they are masters of their 
teoct-hooks, not mastered by them. In 



SUMMARY 145 

many schools students are slaves of bad 
habits, one of which is swallowing text- 
books whole. Teachers are shown how to 
combine outside reading with text-hook 
work^ in a way that will develop rapidity 
of reading, accuracy^, safe memory, relia- 
bility, and independence. The chapter 
shows how to make such reading cumula- 
tive, how to make it scholarly as well as 
diverting, how to consult sources, weigh 
data, exercise scientific doubt. It shows 
that pupils can be led to see the author's 
problem and to consider judiciously how 
he has treated the problem; therefore, 
their use of books is improved. It further 
shows how students can be taught to take 
notes systematically, to keep a helpful 
bibliography and to use a library intelli- 
gently. As reports of reading are given 
in the form of " one-minute talks " as de- 
scribed in this book, English is correlated 
with history. 



10 



CHAPTER IX 

The History Club 

The history classes came to us badly- 
assorted and poorly-prepared. We do 
not dislike such classes because the results 
are more startling; it also puts us on 
our mettle to get results from each of 
the students. The test of a method is 
results. We hope to show you by quoting 
from papers handed in during the first 
week of school and from talks given at 
the end of the year the results we were 
able to get from such a class by using 
" one-minute talks " and the club method. 

The following examples of a pathetic 
half-knowledge, words misused, bad spell- 
ing, and kindred offences, are what many 
teachers have to contend with at the be- 
ginning of the term. 

One boy said: 

" India is a peculiar country in that it has 
so many kinds of ways. The people are put 
in casks, some higher than the proceeding. 
146 



THE HISTORY CLUB 147 

The husbands are not allowed to see their 
wives and when a man had some jewelry he 
couldn't give it to his wife/' etc. 

Another wrote: 

" The history of the civilized world is di- 
vided into three areas. The first is an area of 
thirty centuries and the inhabitants of the 
Rhine." 

This came from a girl who was lazy in 
looking at words : 

" There were a class of people settled in 
China and one day arose a grate relegoius 
preecher named Capacious." 

From the same class we learned that 
Memphis was the capital of " Egg- 
wiped," and Carthage was on the " Pro- 
thonotary " of Africa. 

The students from whom we have 
quoted were not really stupid, they merely 
had not learned how to study. 

Let us make a plea for self-government 
and self-teaching in history classes, con- 
tending that such a method will often do 



148 THE HISTORY CLUB 

more to cure bad spelling, laziness, half- 
knowledge, and general inaccuracy than 
the recitation, as commonly used. The 
teacher holds the hidden wires of the situa- 
tion and directs the class procedure 
through the students, rather than directly. 
There were two sections in our ancient 
history class, which dealt with college pre- 
paratory work. Let us describe the pro- 
cedure from a letter written by a boy 
from whom we have already quoted a 
specimen of poor English and hazy his- 
tory. This was written six months later. 
Notice the definiteness. 

" We adopted a form of class recitation 
which helped us very much. We formed a 
club and had a different president every day 
and a different secretary every month. This 
club was run under the parliamentary style, 
any person wishing to report on anything he 
had read would have to address the chair and 
come up front. Therefore you may readily see 
that we have not been idol during the second 
term^" 

Only one misspelled word and to the 
point! 



STUDENT COMMENTS 149 

Criticism of one another made that boy 
more careful of his EngHsh and more 
accurate in his facts. 

STUDENT COMMENTS 

Before taking you to visit such classes 
we wish to quote what the boys and girls 
said about the work, when they wrote 
impromptu letters in class, presumably 
to friends in other schools or in other 
countries. They were telling about it as 
a thing of their own. 

These comments were as follows: 

" You remember that I wrote you concern- 
ing a History Club. There are many reasons 
why I am interested in this work. In the 
first place, the ground is well-covered and 
every one must be prepared. Furthermore, 
our English is put to practical use in the talks 
and at the same time each and every one of 
us is made familiar with parliamentary prac- 
tice. As you see, we cover at least four dis- 
tinct branches of education: History, English, 
Parliamentary Law, and Expression. Trust- 
ing that you will adopt our method in your 
school — " etc. (J. L.) 



150 THE HISTORY CLUB 

" This year's work has been very interesting 
to me. The method has been unusual and has 
held interest to the end. I do not value so 
much the historical facts that are stored in 
my mind as the catching of the true historical 
spirit. I enjoyed to a great extent the out- 
side reading, as it always left on my mind a 
clearer impression. The ' one-minute talks ' 
I also enjoyed, as much outside information 
was gleaned from them. The year's work 
has opened up a new field for me and I feel 
that I can pursue the work alone with profit 
and pleasure." (I. B.) 

" The year's work has been a pleasure and 
I really hate to see the class close." (C. B.) 

" Of all my studies this year I have enjoyed 
Ancient History the most. I never thought 
it could be made so interesting or could be 
so easily learned, when made interesting. 
While I was in the Public School I studied 
United States History, and how I hated it ! 
We got facts and dates, dates and facts, 
nothing but cold, dry facts. This year was 
just the reverse; we got facts and dates but 



STUDENT COMMENTS 151 

they were sugar-coated and not hard to 
swallow^ and ' take it from me,' as JeJfF says, 
it's the only way to learn History." (H. R.) 

" We all like the club idea, for it teaches 
us to think while facing an audience." 

(G. M.) 

" This coming up before the class to give 
talks was very good training because all gram- 
matical mistakes were corrected by the pupils." 

(J. M.) 

" Before I was in the History Club I did 
not know much about parliamentary law but I 
grew interested. I am not the only one to say 
this, but many others." (L. B.) 

" I never thought Ancient History could be 
made so interesting. I am not stretching the 
truth when I say that I would not have missed 
this year's work for anything. I have a picture 
of the ancient world with its customs." 

(S. W.) 

" The year's work has been a great surprise 
to me. Besides going through Wolfson's text- 
book we have been doing outside reading, which 
consisted of expanded accounts of subjects in 
the text-book." (H. H.) 



152 THE HISTORY CLUB 

" The text-book did not give half the facts. 
The club helped me in English and the notes 
can easily be looked over to find any point." 

(E. M.) 

" I got to know more about the different 
writers of Ancient History and the different 
ways of explaining events. I think that the 
outside reading sort of spoiled me, because 
when I came back to the text-book, I did not 
like it so well as the other." (M. S.) 

" I have enjoyed this year's work im- 
mensely. I think of the two, — Greek and 
Roman History, — Roman History, although a 
bit more difficult, was more interesting on 
account of the club." (C. W.) 

" The club was a great benefit to the stu- 
dents and me especially. The chairman 
learned to preside over the audience, which 
was no easy matter for the first few days." 

(J. C.) 

" I have indeed enjoyed my year's work in 
History, It was a pleasure to see how all the 
schemes worked out. It gives me more confi- 
dence in my teacher when I see that he or she 



STUDENTS COMMENTS 153 

has the work all planned out. I hope to go 
to West Point ; and I think I shall then realize 
some of the discipline which I have tried to 
obey." (P. S.) 

" This year's work has been the best I have 
ever had. I owe it to your method, for or- 
ganizing the History Club and taking pains to 
bring us all out in as many ways as possible. 
It was always a pleasure to be in the class; 
all the students felt that way." (J. C.) 

These letters come from the five highest 
in the class, the five lowest, and five in 
between. Therefore they stand for class 
opinion, and as they were written when 
there was no intention of using them to 
explain a method, they ought to be a fair 
statement of the students' point of view. 
Summarized this opinion is as follows 
(students' wording used) : 

1. Ground well covered. 

2. Every one prepared. 

3. English of practical use. 

4. Familiar with parliamentary law. 

5. Catch the true historical spirit. 

6. Clearer impression from outside reading. 



154 THE HISTORY CLUB 

7. Can work on alone with profit and 

pleasure. 

8. Facts sugar-coated, not dry. 

9. Thinking while standing facing an 

audience. 

10. Grammatical mistakes corrected by stu- 

dents from the floor. 

11. Picture of the ancient world and 

customs. 

12. Value of outside reading. 

13. Notes easily looked over. 

14. Familiar with different writers. 

15. Different explanations offered. 

16. Club interests. 

17. The bashful learn to preside. 

18. Discipline. 

19. Bringing out students in all points 

possible. 

20. Made the class enjoyable. 

KINDS OF WORK SHOWN IN THE MINUTES 

We introduced the club method on 
February 9th. A period had to be taken 
for an introductory talk on the main 
points of parliamentary law. Robert's 
" Rules of Oirder " or some such manual 



WORK SHOWN IN MINUTES 155 

might be placed within the students' 
reach. The chapter in the text-book was 
assigned for rapid reading and the diffi- 
cult proper names from the chapter were 
dictated for a spelling lesson the next day, 
after which " one-minute talks " were 
given on the topics in the chapter. 

On the following day further work of a 
different nature was assigned on the 
chapter: perhaps several paragraph 
themes based on important topics, particu- 
larly a topic that meant review of the 
whole chapter; perhaps an outline of some 
main points; perhaps a map or chart of 
some sort; perhaps a debate on an im- 
portant point; or a rapid quiz by the 
teacher or by the students questioning one 
another. 

After two days of such work on the 
chapter in the text-book, two to four days 
were spent on outside reading about the 
period, — the number of days depending 
on the importance of the epoch and the 
abundance of outside material. Such 
assignments of outside reading were re- 
ported in class each day in " one-minute 
talks." At regular intervals examina- 



156 THE HISTORY CLUB 

tions took place, when, of course, the club 
was dropped temporarily. 

If there is an understanding that the 
club is to be dropped whenever points are 
not fully brought out, whenever any one 
lags behind, or when the class shows in- 
ability to cope with the subject, remark- 
ably steady habits are developed among 
the poor students. If they are made to 
feel that their defection will jeopardize 
the continuance of the popular history 
club, they bestir themselves. 

Students took great interest in corre- 
lating English, geography, spelling, ex- 
temporaneous speaking, expression, and 
art with history. They corrected, by 
" rising to the point of order," the mis- 
takes in grammar; they learned to make 
free-hand maps readily and well; they 
mastered the spelling of the new words; 
they thought rapidly " on their feet " ; 
they took a pride in catching up one an- 
other in pronunciation, using the diction- 
ary for ordinary words and the index for 
historical names; they improved in voice 
production, in holding their listeners and 
in gesture; and last of all, they developed 



SAMPLES OF THE MINUTES 157 

some artistic taste by designing covers for 
their work and keeping it neat for ex- 
hibition and final marking. 



SAMPLES OF THE MINUTES 

The minutes, kept by the secretary 
appointed every two or three weeks, 
clearly showed us what each student was 
doing. Let me quote sample minutes 
exactly as written down : 

February 14, 1911: Outline the Officers of the 
Roman Republic, based on Chapter XX. 

Chairman R 

Speaker Topic Corrections by Students 

W Consuls. Mispronounced "rex 

sacrorum." 

S Senate, compared 

with the U. S. 
S Consuls. " Councils " for " con- 

suls," "which" for 
"who." 
McC Comparison of treas- 
urer and quaestor. 
Second talk on the 
decrease in war. 

W Statement of all of- Reproved for position. 

ficers. Second talk 
on gladiatorial com- 
bats. 

F Tribunes. Double subject. 

J. McC... Decemviri. "Adjective" for "ad- 

verb." 



158 



THE HISTORY CLUB 



A motion made and carried that no one get angry at criticisms 
from the floor. 

Speaker Topic Corrections by Students 

B Decemviri. Difference between 

may and can ex- 
plained by the chair, 
double subject. 

N Tribunes. Second talk Fact not true, directed 

on a comparison of to open book and 

Roman and U. S. look it up, "from" 

officers. instead of " off ." 

H ^diles. 

H Intermarriage of 

classes. 

Several favorable comments by members on this method of 
learning History. Responsibility devolves on the individual stu- 
dent. Plea for each to respond for the honor of the section. 

F Comitia Tributa Ple- 

bis. 
B The assemblies. Slang " kick " object- 

ed to. 
C Games and festivals. Double subject. 

Second talk on an- 
cient and modern 

athletics (reports his 

constant use of 

Myers' History at 

home — -commended 

by the chair) . 

H Praetor. Chairman reproved by 

student for saying 
"git" for "get." 
C What it means to Discussion of "found" 

found a nation, illus- and " discover." 

trated by the U. S. 
S Rights of plebeians. 



SAMPLES OF THE MINUTES 159 

Sijeaker Topic Corrections by Students 

M Not prepare d — an 

excuse — reports 
after school. 

R Police regulations. 

Second talk on the 
dictator. 

I ^diles. 

J Rex sacrorum, priests 

and augurs. 
Adjourned. 

Secretary, I. B. 

The grammatical mistakes were all cor- 
rected by students rising from the floor. 
The entire lesson — twenty-five talks — was 
managed without a direction from the 
teacher. 

For February 9th the assignment, taken 
down by students in their small assign- 
ment books, was recorded in minutes. 

Write short paragraph themes on two of the foUovnng : 

(a) How did the Romans get their first paid standing army ? 

(b) Tell the story of the first Gallic Invasion. 

(c) Describe the organization of the Latin Confederacy. 

Chairman M 

Readers Themes Corrections 

C (a) and (b). Mispronounced "Allia," 

chairman called F for 

position. 

B (a) and (b). Point in or on river settled, 

criticism of text as suggest- 
ing naval battle on the river. 



160 THE HISTORY CLUB 

Readera Themes Corrections 

W (b) and (c). "Particular," urged not to 

take wording of book. Chair- 
man speaks of plagiarism. 

S (b) and (c). Called down for not reading 

loud enough — speaking of 
Romans, they not she, mis- 
pronounced " envoys." 

R (a) and (c) . Criticised for not announcing 

subject. Mispronounced 
"Allia." 

Chairman makes the suggestion that members read more 
slowly and look up as they read. 

F (a) and (c) . Very painfully timid — had to 

be coaxed, poor reader. 

T reproved for chewing gum; ordered by chair to put 

It in waste paper basket. Chair reproved for " why-a." 

One day when maps were night work, 
the talks were on any historical subject 
whatsoever. Such topics as Macaulay's 
" Lays of Ancient Rome," " The Value 
of Historical Novels," " Organization of 
the Army of the United States as Com- 
pared with the Roman Army " (given by 
a boy in the military corps), " The Greek 
and Roman History Classes," " Different 
Kinds of Religions," " Dress in Ancient 
Times," " The Last Days of Pompeii," 
etc., showed a lively interest in history in 
general. On another map day there was 



SAMPLES OF THE MINUTES 161 

a spirited debate between patricians and 
plebeians, as espoused by the class. 

In talking about outside reading it was 
a common occurrence to " rise to a point 
of order " and question facts. The chair- 
man referred the two disputants to their 
respective authorities and had the point 
cleared up. Sometimes there were dis- 
cussions about opening books, about 
sneaking out of the work, etc., during 
which the speakers struck straight from 
the shoulder. It was the custom for every- 
body to participate in the talks, even the 
most timid and the dullest. The members 
of the club were ashamed not to take part, 
but we know the time when they were 
not ashamed to fail openly in a recitation. 

Two boys brought gavels to class as 
soon as we organized: one, a miniature 
croquet mallet; the other, a rough-hewn 
gavel. We used the first in Club A and 
the second in Club B. If they could 
speak, those miniature gavels would tell 
a tale of animal spirits restrained; of 
courteous dealings, of discipline, of re- 
gard for the rights of others; of more 
11 



162 



THE HISTORY CLUB 



attention to position in class, to behavior; 
of war against chewing gum and chatter- 
ing; — against any of the bad habits that 
make classroom work a trial to the poor 
disciplinarian. Who did it? The stu- 
dents through the gavel. Vital moral 
questions sometimes came up and were 
settled by the students themselves, and 
always sanely. 

The minutes of the outside reading 
registered the student's name, the 
authority, the topic, and mistakes. For 
example : 

March 29, 1911: Outside Reading on the Second 
Punic War. 



Chairman T 






Speaker 


Authority 


Topic 


Corrections 


B 


Livy. 


Hannibal. 




C.B.. 


Gilman. 


Carthage. 




C 


Gilman. 


Hamilcar and his 


Double sub- 






sons. 


ject. 


F 


Gilman. 


Hasdrubal. 


Facts slightly 
mixed. 


H. ... 


Morris, 


Purpose in at- 
tacking Sagun- 
tum. 




H.... 


Polybius. 


Character of 
Hannibal. 




R.... 


Haaren and 
Poland 


Scipio Africanus. 


Talks too fast. 



A VISIT TO THE HISTORY CLUB 163 

A VISIT TO THE HISTORY CLUB 

After the students are seated, they 
copy the assignment for the next day. 
Then, with " Harold, you may preside to- 
day! " the teacher rises and goes to a seat 
in the back of the room. Harold takes 
the place at the desk, picks up the gavel 
and calls the club to order. 

" We will now have talks on Roman 
life," he says. 

Three boys rise simultaneously. " Mr. 
President ! " comes from three throats. 

*' Mr. Lee," says the chairman, des- 
ignating the smallest boy. 

Ned Lee moves up beside the teacher's 
desk and faces the class. 

" The present century is not the only time 
of bribery," he begins in a well-modulated 
voice. " It existed in the time of the Romans 
and was just as bad, if not worse, then. The 
governors of provinces bribed the voters to 
obtain the office and, when the term was ended, 
bribed the judge who tried him " 

" Mr. President, I rise to a point of 



164 THE HISTORY CLUB 

order. He's speaking of ' governors.' It 
ought to be 'them.' " 

" — Tried them. They also got quite a for- 
tune to last them to the end of their lives. 
After the Second Punic War a law was passed 
forbidding bribery, but as long as rich men 
were willing to buy votes and the people to 
sell them there was little use for such a law. 
Wilkins in his ' Classical Antiquities ' says 
bribery existed until the end of the Roman 
Empire." 

A tall young fellow comes next. His 
clear, ringing voice and pleasing address 
are the result of constant practice in speak- 
ing to the class. 

" Although the slaves were held in contempt 
by their masters, yet the masters seemed to 
hold it an honor to give the slave his name. 
Say, for instance, if a slave's name was John 
Smith and he was owned by Mr. Brown, the 
slave's full name would then be John Smith 
Brown. If Mr. Brown would sell the slave to 
Mr. Black, another change in name would 
occur. The Slave would now be called John 



A VISIT TO THE HISTORY CLUB 165 

Smith Brown Black. This method afforded a 
way of finding the character of a slave, as he 
could be traced back by his names." 

"Mr. President!" 

Not a moment is lost before the next 
speaker begins. 

"My authority is Oilman. 

" When the Romans first built their houses, 
they built only one room, which was called the 
' atrium,' or ' darkened chamber.' This room 
was called the darkened chamber on account 
of the smoke on the walls, which came from 
the fire trying to find its way to a hole in the 
roof. This hole was used to admit light, and 
when it rained, the water would be collected 
in a cistern in the floor. At the entrance of 
the ' atrium ' was a vestibule and in the vesti- 
bule a threshold which would make the person 
who stepped on it unlucky. Adjoining the ves- 
tibule was a small room in which lived a porter. 
When any one wanted to announce their 
arrival " 

"Mr. President!" 

When recognized, the speaker makes a 



166 THE HISTORY CLUB 

correction. " ' Any one ' is singular," he 
says. 

Hardly are the words out of his mouth, 
than the boy in front continues : 

" — His arrival. If any one wanted to an- 
nounce his arrival, he would make a noise with 
a knocker on the door. When the visitor went 
into the chamber, the porter would say either 
* cave canem/ which means ' beware of the 
dog,' or ' salve,' which means welcome. 

" The Romans also had a code of signs, 
which told the happenings of the house. When 
a chaplet was put outside, an heir had been 
born; but if the sign was some cypress in pots, 
it meant death. When laurel was seen on 
the door, it meant that a marriage was being 
celebrated, and when torches and lamps were 
lighted, there was great joy in the household." 

" Mr. President, may I speak? " 
Acknowledged by the chairman, an 

eager little boy steps to the front of the 

room and tells a good story. 

" The family is believed to have been the 
most important factor in the Roman state. The 
clan grew from the family, the tribe from 



A VISIT TO THE HISTORY CLUB 167 

the clan, and the state from the tribe. The 
father had complete power over his family. 
They were free to do as they liked, when the 
father died or freed them. The son, however, 
was above the power of his father, as long as 
he held public office. A good example of this 
is the following: — 

" During the Second Punic War, Fabius 
Cunctatus was sent to serve under his son, who 
was consul for that year. When the son of 
Fabius went out to meet Fabius senior, the 
father rode past eleven lictors. The son 
sternly ordered him to dismount, which he 
immediately did, saying, ' I only wished to see, 
my son, whether you remembered, as you 
ought, that you were a Roman consul ! ' " 

No sooner has the last speaker taken 
his seat, than five students are on their 
feet. The chairman rapidly designates 
the order in which they are to take the 
floor. 

" Mr. Charlton," he announces. 

Charlton gives a straight-forward ac- 
count of Roman funerals. These talks, 
which are quoted here, were actually 
written down as they were given. We 



168 THE HISTORY CLUB 

looked over them carefully to see if they 
were the same as given and have used the 
written accounts that tallied with the 
spoken. 

So Charlton begins : 

" The Roman Funeral or Procession was 
perhaps one of the most sumptuous affairs 
of its kind the world has ever known. A poor 
Roman, of course, was subject only to such 
treatment as was necessary. Upon death, he 
was either cremated or buried, as the circum- 
stances demanded. Rich Romans only were 
cremated, as this was the privilege of the rich. 
When a wealthy Roman died, his body was 
turned over to the undertakers, who washed 
and dressed it and laid it out in a very conspic- 
uous position on the couch, the feet usually 
being toward the door. 

" The funeral was held at night, as it was 
believed, according to one of the writers of that 
day, that night was the time of rest and as 
death is eternal rest — in consequence, this was 
practiced. At the head of the procession were 
torch carriers and heralds. Then came dancers 
and even jugglers. They were followed by 
the corpse, mourners, slaves, and others. 



A VISIT TO THE HISTORY CLUB 169 

" On arriving at the burial-place the friends 
encircled the place of cremation " 

"Would that be a 'burial-place'?" 
questioned the chairman. 

" The body was cremated in two different 
ways. One way was by digging a ditch about 
three by two and a half, in which were placed 
fuel and spices, and then the body. Another 
method was by building a funeral pile, which 
was constructed of the best of wood. On this 
the body was placed, together with other acces- 
sories. 

" After cremation the remains were gathered 
up and placed in an urn, which afterwards 
was placed in a vault, similar to those of the 
present day. Upon return from the funeral, 
the relatives and friends partook of a sump- 
tuous meal, then they continued to mourn for a 
period of from three to six months. At inter- 
vals they lit sacred lights for the benefit of 
the departed souls." 

A little chap in a big white collar 
follows. 



170 THE HISTORY CLUB 

" Members of the club, the book that I am 
on for is ' Zigzag Journeys in Classic Lands/ 
by Butterworth, It is about a class that is 
travelling over most of the world. The part 
I was reading is where they went to Milan. 
It was at one time the capital of Italy. The 
most famous building is the cathedral. It has 
taken centuries to build it. There are seven 
thousand statues and over a thousand bas- 
reliefs " 

" Mr. President, isn't that s silent like 
bd relief? " A boy has risen to his feet. 
" Yes," says the chairman. 

" — ^Bas-relief," continues the boy. " It has 
been decorated by statues and pictures by 
Canova, Michael Angelo, and Raphael." 

The next speaker is a young student 
who has tried hard to develop the historical 
sense. 

" My topic," he begins, " was discussed. 
May I speak of what I learned this year? " 

The chairman gives permission. 

" Of all the things I have learned this year, 
one lesson stands out eminently, and that is the 



A VISIT TO THE HISTORY CLUB 171 

realization of the great field of knowledge 
there is to be learned. When I began to study 
history, I thought all that was necessary was 
to get what there was in the text-book and I 
would know ancient history. But the more I 
studied, the more I came to realize that the 
text-book is only a skeleton of ancient history. 
In a text I got only a number of bare facts, 
which often seem impossible, due to the lack 
of suflScient explanation to make them clear or 
vivid. Therefore, in order to obtain a fair 
knowledge of ancient, or any other, history, a 
student must read different accounts of the 
same subject and build up a full account. You 
will very often find that historians differ on the 
same subject. To form an opinion of such, 
we must read the opinions of many more 
historians. 

" It is the same in other studies. People 
ignorant of literature will imagine they be- 
come literary by reading a few masterpieces. 
But when they once look into this great field 
of literature, they find themselves completely 
lost. They can not say which style of writ- 
ing is finest, because there are so many they 
have not read. They can not pass fair com- 
parative judgment on the construction and 



172 THE HISTORY CLUB 

ideas of a book, because there are so many 
books on the same subject that they have not 
read. As a consequence these difficulties urge 
them to make themselves acquainted with more 
authors and their works. And the more they 
read, the less they find they know." 

RESULTS 

These few talks are a fair sample of the 
talks that followed. Every one took part 
and the work was punctuated with con- 
tradictions of one another, with tracing 
back to authorities, with discussions about 
parliamentary law, with occasional ap- 
peals to the teacher, who usually threw the 
decision on the shoulders of the chairman 
and the club at large, — for that is the 
object of the club, to help the students 
to teach themselves. 

Constantly, the presiding officer was on 
guard to get the best from the class, by 
such directions as, " Speak louder," 
" Look your audience in the eye," " Speak 
more slowly," " Take a better position, 
class," even " Raise the window, Ritchie," 
when he noticed a yawn. He had seen the 



RESULTS 173 

teacher do that many times with the ex- 
planation that pure air is absolutely 
necessary for good brain work. 

This sample lesson has been taken from 
the work with a badly-assorted class, 
which came from all sorts of schools, with 
all sorts of abominable habits of study. 
The reader can not fail to notice the im- 
provement in directness, in sticking to the 
subject, in vitalizing facts; he can not help 
but see that there is a growing conscious- 
ness of the value of good grammar, of 
convincing address. He will also see that 
there is a love of the work for the work's 
sake, that courtesy is developed towards 
one another, that students acquire self- 
reliance that enables them to carry on 
their history reading alone with profit. 

In conclusion, let us urge on others the 
introduction of the club method, if only 
for occasional use. Make history a living, 
enjoyable thing and the history period 
will be looked forward to with eagerness 
and finished with regret. The club 
method brings a moral and mental stimu- 
lus into the life of every boy and every 
girl. One of the greatest results of such 



174 THE HISTORY CLUB 

a system of self-teaching is strengthening 
of character. The Hon. Ben B. Lindsay, 
the " Children's Judge " of Denver, says: 

" In order to ' train up a child in the way 
he should go,' we must work along two def- 
inite lines. First, we must equip the child 
with such moral efficiency that when he is 
beset by some temptation he will not need any 
restraint except that restraint which is self- 
imposed. Second, we must improve economic 
conditions so as to limit the pressure brought 
about by temptation." 

The former is the work of the school. 
Any method that develops initiative, self- 
reliance, self-control, and will power is 
equipping the child with moral efficiency. 

" One of two things seems fairly plain," 
says Judge Lindsay further: " either we must 
revise our ideas of what is to be exacted from 
the public schools, or we must reorganize the 
schools upon a very different and much broader 
and more expensive basis. If education is to 
be made not merely a period of schooling, not 
even a preparatory course for the duties of 
life, but part of life itself, it is evident to even 



SUMMARY 175 

a cursory observer that the profession of the 
teacher is shortly to be regarded quite as 
seriously as that of the physician or lawyer. 
There must be many more classes and in- 
structors who are specialists in the subjects 
with which they deal. Education must be made 
so fascinating that compulsory school laws 
will be anomalies." 

The club method popularizes history! 
Parliamentary procedure is a part of 
life in the world. 

SUMMARY 

Chapter IX presents the club method, 
in which students give their own reports 
and judge their own work and theories. 
The new education does not regard the 
classroom as a place for rigid repressive 
discipline, inflicted by the teacher, but 
as a place where the powers of the stu- 
dent, moral as well as mental, are in- 
creased. The only discipline that will 
help in later life is self-imposed dis- 
cipline, that is, self-control. This chapter 
asserts, then, that egoism is justifiable 
in students. Each student has the right to 
build up his own personality and should 



176 THE HISTORY CLUB 

be aided. Parliamentary procedure not 
only acquaints with parliamentary law, 
but brings out a regard for the rights of 
others, responsibility, the call of duty, 
work for work's sake and self-inflicted 
punishment. The chapter tells how the 
students regarded the club; the sample 
minutes show the actual corrections in 
English and history; the visit to the club 
period gives a practical sample lesson. 
Through imitation poor students learn to 
improve in their speech; at the recognition 
of improvement from their classmates, 
they redouble their efforts. Commenda- 
tion from classmates means more to the 
average student than commendation from 
the teacher. There comes a mastery of the 
technique of study, the petty things like 
spelling, (reading, writing, etc., that make 
or mar the work. Attention is increased 
by self-government, therefore, memory is 
keener. Positive qualities replace the 
negative; ease, self-reliance, self-control, 
courtesy, obedience, originality, and 
initiative are developed. The improve- 
ment in the structure of English is 
marked. Bbth moral and mental value of 
the club idea is inestimable. 



CHAPTER X 

Organizing a Government as a Class 
Exercise 

James McCrea, former President of 
the Pennsylvania Railroad, at the Forty- 
Sixth Founder's Day celebration at 
Lehigh University urged the establish- 
ment of a course on national, state, and 
municipal government, as a new depart- 
ment in American colleges. He said: 

" Since this university was founded, the 
nation has increased from thirty millions to 
ninety millions of people, governed, however, 
to all intents and purposes in the same manner 
and by the same machinery. As a result there 
has grown a great unrest in the land. As 
there was in 1865 a shortage of young men 
being scientifically educated, so is there to-day 
a shortage of young men being taught the 
principles and science of practically ad- 
ministering a republican form of government." 

At various institutes thi^oughout the 
country it has been constantly advocated 

12 177 



178 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

that more attention should be paid to 
matters of government in the public 
schools. Self-government among stu- 
dents, the honor system, and schemes like 
the George Junior Republic are attempts 
to regard the boy or the girl as a small 
citizen with the responsibilities and privi- 
leges of such. The Boy Seout movement 
is a popular organization to teach obedi- 
ence and preparation. By furnishing a 
legitimate outlet, it civilizes the gang 
spirit, which Dr. Luther H. Gulick of the 
Russell Sage Foundation says is not only 
natural, but usable in education, — as in 
playground activities. Some 6500 boys 
and 300 girls of Baltimore are being de- 
veloped into good citizens by the Public 
Athletic League, in which trained experts 
in child psychology aim to develop chil- 
dren by directing their play along intelli- 
gent and moral lines, by making the chil- 
dren good losers as well as good winners. 
A street inspector of the Department of 
Public Woirks in Philadelphia has thought 
out a new way to win the cooperation of 
school children in the movement for clean 
streets. A button bearing the slogan. 



ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 179 

" For Clean Streets, Philadelphia," is 
awarded as a badge of honor to children 
who do something to improve the condi- 
tion of the city streets. This is working 
for preventive street cleaning. It is tak- 
ing the children into close sympathy with 
the vital work of a big city. It was the 
idea of a woman. The wearers of the 
buttons, although under age politically, 
actually become volunteer inspectors and 
real welfare workers. Such matters of 
government should be discussed in the 
schools. 

Documents like the Declaration of 
Independence and The Constitution are 
vitalized if taken in class as the frame- 
work, or germ, of dramatic work. A 
government in actual line with our own 
American government can be worked out 
by teacher and pupils together. Various 
characters can be assigned: Benjamin 
Franklin, Washington, John Adams, 
Madison, Hamilton, Jefferson, and others 
of that noble band who helped to create 
a government. Such work necessitates 
close study of the documents referred to; 
this close study is made interesting rather 



180 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

than tedious by the simple suggestion that 
the parts be acted out. 

To encourage thought, a new govern- 
ment can be formed. This was done with 
such enthusiasm by two history classes, 
that we take pleasure in describing it in 
detail. 

School is not apart from life: it is 
synonymous with life. Modern education 
has taken great strides in recognizing the 
boy, not as a creature different from man, 
but as an incipient man, best served if 
acquainted with the problems and re- 
sponsibilities that face man. 

A GOVERNMENT IN SEVEN DAYS 

" In the next seven days," we are speak- 
ing to the ancient history class, — " let us 
organize a government " 

Heads nod eagerly. 

" — Here are the premises. We are a 
band of 2000 people, left by chance on a 
desert island. We are thoroughly up-to- 
date in all our needs, and a good fairy will 
bring the things of civilization to us. We 
wish to organize a government, but we 



GOVERNMENT IN SEVEN DAYS 181 

also wish to cut loose from any precon- 
ceptions of government. Do not get out 
your American histories to study the Con- 
stitution. Do your own thinking. 

" Club A and Club B will both organize 
and we can then see which gets the better 
results." 

" How shall we start? " asks a thought- 
ful boy eagerly. 

" Let us look over the whole field of 
government for to-morrow and bring to 
class a list of all the forms of govern- 
ment; put a star to the one you think 
would best serve our purpose; and out- 
line your reasons in a ' one-minute talk.' 
In class we can hear all the speeches and 
then vote for the best championed form, 
which we shall adopt." 

" Gee! that's great!" one boy said to 
another as they went out of the room. 

For the following seven days heated 
discussion was abundant in the school. 
Several fathers told us that their boys 
had dragged out of them all they knew 
of municipal government; in fact, one 
father admitted that he was clearly 



182 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

" floored " by the intelligent questions of 
his boy. 

The warning against using any model, 
— even the United States Constitution, — 
was to prevent their copying wholesale. 
We wished original thinking, as much as 
possible. We wished, too, to see how our 
democratic principles were grounded in 
the youth of the city. It was a surprise to 
find the altruistic, the practical, and the 
economic, all coming to the fore. 

Coming at the end of the spring term, 
the scheme offered a valuable test in oral 
composition, especially in extemporaneous 
speaking. The class managed it entirely 
themselves ; and the teacher kept full notes 
of the proceedings. It is these notes that 
we reproduce in the sample lessons, quot- 
ing the speeches. We appointed as tem- 
porary chairman the quickest, most logical 
boy in the class. He took a chair in front 
of the class. We handed him the gavel. 

MEETING I 

" The tribe will come to order," says 
the chairman. " Our business to-day is to 
discuss forms of government, on which 



MEETING 183 

a vote will be taken at the end of the 
period." 

" Mr. Chairman, may I have the floor? " 

" Mr. Winton." 

All of the speakers come to the front 
of the room and address the class. Winton 
steps up. 

" Brethren and sisters," he begins, " only 
one form of government will serve our pur- 
pose. That is social democracy, a republican 
form of government that protects more fully 
the individual. I suggest it because (1) its 
name means the good of society, (2) we must 
build a government for all the people, (3) we 
need a strong foundation for a good structure. 
I also suggest that ladies be exempt from 
government, — for love of the home and for 
rearing their families." 

The chairman remarks : 
" Your last suggestion was out of order. 
We are discussing kinds of government." 

" Mr. Chairman," says a second speaker, 
" I favor a republican form of government, 
with power in a head, supported by an assem- 



184 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

bly. Hold the head responsible, keep the best 
men in office, and protect from dishonest 
dealings." 

A third is on the floor. 

" This is a critical time, tribesmen ; we make 
a government to abide by in the future. Let us 
get the right kind, and go slowly. I do not 
believe in the representative form — Mr. Chair- 
man, may we refute? " 

" Yes," answers the chairman. 

" — It must be acquired gradually. I think 
the government should be run without repre- 
sentatives, the people as a whole serving in 
convention. Ignorant people can be trained in 
the work of government." 

The chairman speaks: 

" Consider not only now, but the future 
when we shall be more than one hundred 
times as big." 

Another boy comes front. 

"Has pure democracy ever existed.'*" he 
asks. " The Greeks called their form democ- 
racy, but foreigners and slaves, and for a long 



MEETING ' 185 

time the common people, had no say. We 
learned about that with Solon, Draco, and 
Clisthenes. Even to-day in the United States 
we do not have pure democracy. People are 
paying taxes and not entitled to a vote. I 
mean women. Therefore, I think for the 
present a republican form, as commonly asso- 
ciated with the United States, is best." 

The next speaker sketches briefly all 
the forms of government and espouses 
the constitutional monarchy, because he 
thinks that the barbarous conditions sur- 
rounding the island demand " a strong 
hand in constant control." The boy ex- 
plains the kinds of monarchy; the kinds 
of oligarchy, as aristocracy, plutocracy; 
the variations of tyranny; and autocracy, 
despotism, and empire. There is a spirited 
discussion, after he sits down, between 
two boys about the difference between 
monarchy and empire. 

A commission of five men is recom- 
mended by another boy. 

After every one in the class has spoken 
his or her preference, the chairman comes 
out flatly for social democracy, pleading 



186 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

that the great brotherhood of man de- 
serves a fair trial. In concluding he ap- 
points two tellers to pass ballot slips 
(pieces of paper) and directs each mem- 
ber to write his preference down and hand 
it in. When the vote is counted, it stands : 

Monarchy 11 

Social Democracy 11111111111 

Republican Representative Form . .11111 

Oligarchy 1 

Aristocracy 11 

" Fellow tribesmen," says the chair- 
man, " the form of social democracy has 
won. This means that all the people rule 
and they look after the interests of all the 
people." Then the chairman looks to- 
wards the teacher, who rises and assigns 
the next lesson, which they copy in their 
assignment books, — outline or block in 
the main features of the social democracy. 

After school two boys had an animated 
debate on the republic of ancient times 
versus the modern republic. The class 
was beginning to ask why instead of 
swallowing wholesale. There was marked 
interest. 



MEETING II 187 

MEETING II — MAIN DEPARTMENTS 

We tabulate some of the suggestions: 

(I) Head; cabinet of 5 men, appointed by 
the head; parliament of 50 to make laws; 
judges. 

(II) Head; cabinet of 10 to make laws; 
5 inspectors; judges. 

(III) Head and assistant head; cabinet of 
5; secretary; treasurer; commission of 100 to 
make laws; judges. 

(IV) President; cabinet of 5; assembly of 
50; judges. 

(V) Executive board of 10 men elected 
directly by people; cabinet; supreme court. 

(VI) Archon; cabinet; assembly; power to 
elect a dictator. 

(VII) General manager; board of mana- 
gers; assembly; judges. 

In the speeches that followed, it was 
Teadily seen that the four-part division of 
VII appealed to the class. The chairman 
called for a ballot, which was cast for the 
business plan of " General Manager." 
He then asked for a discussion of depart- 



188 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

ments, which were to be looked after by 
the board of managers. 

The chairman resolves the meeting 
into a committee of the whole. 

" Mr. Chairman," says a young busi- 
ness man, " we have to coin our own 
money. That means a treasury." 

" Yes," says the chairman, as he writes 
it on the board, " the treasury! " 

" We must regulate commerce and 
labor," speaks up another. " Why not 
combine the post office with it? It is a 
form of labor and implies interchange, 
like commerce." 

The chairman calls for the opinion of 
the class after each suggestion. They 
agree to the above. 

Winton is upon his feet. 

" A tribe on another island may make 
war," he suggests ; " we must have our 
army and navy, Mr. Chairman." 

" What else? " is urged. 

*' I suggest," says a quiet lad, " that 
we regard health as a department, both of 
the individual health and health of the 
community in a moral as well as a physical 
way. Public safety is health in ' The 



MEETING II 189 

Body Politic ', as they say. Pure food 
and all that would come under it, too." 

" Let us have a theatre owned by the 
government and get good shows," sug- 
gests another. 

" And why not have the government 
regulate moving pictures and education 
in the same department?" says a girl. 
" Education and amusements ought to go 
together. Education ought to be more 
amusing and amusements more educa- 
tional," — which was not half bad! 

The result of the second day's work 
was as follows: 

General manager — -elected directly by the 
people. 

Board of assistant managers — elected di- 
rectly by people, one to be elected a chief 
assistant to replace general manager, if 
necessary. 

Commerce, labor, and post office. 

Treasury. 

Resources: forests, agriculture, mines, etc. 

Army and navy. 

Health and public safety. 

Education and amusements. 



190 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

Assembly — elected directly by the people, 
according to population. 

Judges 3 or 5 — elected by direct vote of the 
people. 

MEETING III QUALIFICATIONS 

Each student has outlined his personal 
views. There are heated discussions on 
length of term, age of the incumbent, and 
whether native-born or naturalized. " Ten 
years " is objected to as " too long " and 
" an unfair monopoly " ; " two years " is 
objected to as " not enough time to work 
out policies." Finally they attach to the 
length of term re-election and recall. The 
term of the board of managers is made 
longer than the general manager's to 
allow policies to run over from one ad- 
ministration to the next and to prevent 
their being killed by a new party, coming 
into power. 

*' Mr. Chairman," comes a pointed 
query, " shall we let the women vote ? I 
move that the girls have full rights of 
citizenship." 

" Second it," cries out a girl. 



MEETING III 191 

" All in favor of extending to the girls 
the rights of citizenship say ' aye! 

" Aye! " from the majority. 

"No?" 

" No I " from one lonely boy. 

" The ayes have it! " says the chairman. 
"Woman's suiFrage for us!" 

" Mr. Chairman," says a young man, 
" we must have a name. I move we call 
this 'The Social Test!'" 

Says the chair: " That's a good sug- 
gestion. Any others? " 

In a few minutes we have " Lonely 
Isle," " Florencia," " Good Hope," " Isle 
of Men," and " Nova Terra " (Latin for 
new land). 

" Nova Terra " wins. The boy who 
suggested the name rises and speaks of 
the people as " Nova Terrans." 

All of this is done with absolute 
courtesy, regard for the opinions of others, 
and desire to do their own thinking. We 
do not claim anything wonderfully 
brilliant in the kind of government 
evolved, but it was remarkably noticeable 
in the classroom that boys who were lazy 
thinkers were waking up, timid speakers 



192 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

were losing self-consciousness, and ill- 
bred pupils were acquiring self-control. 

MEETING IV THE CONSTITUTION 

There was a delightfully original word- 
ing to most of the preambles ; only one had 
a glimmer of our own " We, the people." 

We quote one of the most direct : 

" We, the inhabitants of the island of Nova 
Terra, do indorse with our signatures the fol- 
lowing form of government on this, the ninth, 
day of June, nineteen hundred and eleven." 

We shall quote the articles from a 
number of papers, to show the brief 
statements. 

Article I. — This country shall be known as 
Nova Terra and the people as Nova Terrans. 

Article II. — All people, men and women, 
shall have the power to vote, providing they are 
twenty-one years of age. 

Article III. — We adopt the initiative, refer- 
endum, and recall. 

Article IV. — Power shall lodge in a general 
manager; a board of managers; an assembly; 
and 3 or 5 judges. 



MEETING IV 193 

Article V. — The general manager must be 
35 years old, be native-born, have a good edu- 
cation, and serve four years. 

Article VI. — The board of managers shall 
consist of the following departments: com- 
merce, labor, and post office; treasury; army 
and navy ; health and public safety ; resources ; 
education and amusements. 

The assistant manager must be 35 years old, 
naturalized, a specialist in his work, and serve 
six years. 

Article VII. — The judges must be at least 
40 years of age, naturalized, have studied law, 
and serve five years. 

Article VIII. — The representatives in the 
assembly shall be 30 years old, be educated to 
a degree, be naturalized, and serve six years, — 
Yq going out every 2 years. Every 100 people 
shall have a representative. 

Article IX. — All officers shall be elected 
directly by the people. 

Young Milton concluded his preamble 

with the words, " We have started out 

with rather a simple government, which 
13 



194 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

will grow moiTe complicated as our do- 
minions increase!" 

Club B has organized along somewhat 
similar lines, with a head instead of a 
general manager. They call themselves 
" Freelanders " of the island " Free 
Land." Several students have moved 
from one class to the other and thus have 
called for a motion to naturalize them. 
Another boy has come in uninvited and 
been put out as a spy. On another occa- 
sion when speeches are in order, young 
women from the Commercial Department 
visit the meeting to see if they can take 
down shorthand notes. They are accorded 
the freedom of the island and escorted to 
front seats, — all without a word from the 
teacher. 

MEETtNG V ^ELECTION OF OFFICERS 

Nominations are next in order. These 
are balloted for and run through very 
expeditiously, much to the credit of the 
temporary chairman. The results in 
Club A are as follows: 



MEETING VI 195 

General manager. — Matthew (who has since 
carved out a gavel as a remembrance of " Nova 
Terra"). 

Board of managers. — Isabel, Clarence, 
Percy, Walter, Joseph, George. 

Judges. — Cecil, Bertha, Samuel. 

Representatives. — The rest of the class. 

The room is then divided into three 
sections: on the extreme right in vertical 
line sit the judges; in the middle, the six 
assistant managers ; on the left, the repre- 
sentatives. 

MEETING VI INAUGURAL ADDRESSES 

The Nova Terran general manager has 
been introduced by the temporary chair- 
man in a good speech. He rises to 
respond. 

" I thank you. Nova Terrans," he says man- 
fully, " for the honor of electing me general 
manager. I need your help. It is with me 
as with the man who walks with a staff: I 
need your support. We must act in harmony. 
Our government is novel: the great capitalist 



196 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

is the state ; we mean to practice a practical 
socialism. My policy for myself is ' Toe 
the mark ! ' ; for others it is ' Equal chances 
for all ! ' " 

" Mr. General Manager," speaks one 
of the boys, "I move that we give a ris- 
ing vote to the temporary chairman, who 
has carried us through the difficult period 
of organization." 

" Second it! " flashes another. 

" All in favor of a rising vote to the 
temporary chairman may rise." 

The entire class has quietly risen. 

" It is unanimous," says the presiding 
officer. 

The temporary chairman acknowledges 
the vote of appreciation and tells how 
much he enjoyed presiding, because he 
" learned what a hard thing it was to 
manage and to get all the business done 
in a specified time." 

Then follow speeches from the manager 
of commerce, labor, and the post-office and 
from the manager of resources. These 
have all been worked up in outline for 



MEETING VI 197 

" one-minute talks." The latter says in 
part: 

" Fellow countrymen, my election was a 
great surprise, as I am only a naturalized 
foreigner. It shows the greatness of your 
hearts to take me into your brotherhood. I 
purpose guarding the resources, — coal, forests, 
gas, oil, metals of all kinds, water. Farmers 
are to be fairly treated, not like the plebeian in 
ancient Rome, As I studied farming in mj^ 
youth and later took up engineering, I feel 
that I can serve your interests." 

The manager of education and amuse- 
ments says spiritedly: 

" We will have free schools from the kinder- 
garten to the university, with free books. 
Every boy and every girl shall have to go to 
school up to a certain age. We will also use 
moving-picture shows for teaching purposes; 
we shall have a natural park for recreation, 
with a lake for swimming and skating, and 
band concerts in the summer. We will also 
establish a government theatre with cheap 
prices and good plays." 



198 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

Says the manager of health and public 
safety : 

" Fellow Nova Terrans, I shall try to pay 
you back in services. (1) The island is sub- 
ject to cold winds, so I will order all houses 
made to defy the winds; (2) I will build a 
public hospital; (3) I will place an officer at 
our port to examine newcomers and keep out 
objectionable ones; (4) I will establish in our 
city a corps to guard life and property; and 
(5) I will do, as Dr. Wiley has done for the 
United States: establish an inspection of pure 
food." 

The manager of the army and the navy 
purposes to make military training com- 
pulsory in the schools, and in that way 
raise a standing army, but he concludes 
with an appeal for peace. 

" No country can be without money," says 
the manager of the treasury; "I purpose to 
start a mint and make some money. I hope to 
be honest, and will not allow graft; therefore, 
I thank you for your faith in my honesty." 



MEETING VI 199 

Then the judges promise to uphold 
law, to protect all people, and to be im- 
partial. The chief of the assembly 
pledges himself: 

" To keep order and to have all deal- 
ings above-board and advantageous to the 
whole country."- 

The other club elected as head a young 
woman of rare mental ability. It is signifi- 
cant because girls were in the minority. 
Her address we quote : 

" Fellow citizens, I feel keenly the honor, 
also the responsibility, of my position. As 
women, we have not been represented in 
politics. We are, therefore, all the more 
anxious to show you that there need be no 
regrets. 

" I stand for open, above-board dealing and 
clean politics. 

" I urge you to remember that in reality this 
country is not ruled by the Head, but by each 
of you. Therefore, clean politics and right 
conditions depend on you. 

" I stand for order, which is preferable to 
confusion and anarchy. 



200 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

" I also stand for peace and for prosperity 
in the homes, among the families, as well as in 
the entire nation. 

" Let us live the Golden Rule and labor for 
the real Brotherhood of Man." 



MEETING VII THE FLAG 

At the last meeting both clubs voted for 
colors, the Nova Terrans choosing red 
and white; the Freelanders, crimson and 




FLAG DESIGN 



Jos. Ltrrnrr 



slate. Designs of flags were submitted 
by all the students. The most striking 



RESULTS 



201 



were ten horizontal bars of red and white ; 
a red cross on a white ground with " In 
hoc signo vinces " ; a red star of hope on a 
white ground. They narrowed down 




] SLATE 



FLAG DESIGN 



Jack Love 



finally to the two designs given here. An 
interruption on the last day prevented 
the deciding vote. 



RESULTS 



" Disregard of law is fast becoming an 
American characteristic," reported the 
committee on a system for teaching morals 



202 ORGANIZING A GOVERNMENT 

in the public school, when the National 
Educational Association met in San Fran- 
cisco during July, 1911. It urged that 
the tendencies of modern life be met by 
teaching the elemental virtues in school. 
Tidiness, self-sacrifice, obedience, patriot- 
ism, courage, and determination must be 
developed in pupils. The Tclations of the 
individual boy and girl to society, to 
work, and to government must be taught ; 
also a study of the family as the basis of 
society. 

How greatly the ideal of education has 
changed in the last fifty years! Then it 
was, " Pour in! " Now it is not so much, 
" Draw out knowledge," as " Develop the 
faculties," so that the student can teach 
himself. Now it is: Build character as 
well as mind, body as well as character. 

The school boy is an apprentice. He 
meets the duties and problems of school in 
the same spirit in which he will meet the 
trials and responsibilities in later life. As 
he will vote then, perhaps hold office, so 
should he vote now and hold office. 

There are three things a boy has to do 
when he leaves school : First, he lives in a 



RESULTS 20S 

community under a government, bounded 
by law, which he has not made but 
nevertheless has to obey. He mingles 
with friends and business acquaintances, 
among whom the qualities of self-reliance, 
independence of thought, courage, 
courtesy, and obedience make him re- 
spected; or the opposite qualities bring 
dislike and failure. In the third place, 
he owes a duty to himself to bring out the 
best in himself, to " make good! " 

How can we develop the boy, then, so 
that he will bring satisfaction to himself, 
to his friends, and to the community? 

He must train himself to do his own 
thinking and to draw his own conclusions ; 
he must learn to express himself easily in 
clear, effective English; he must store up 
knowledge, which will afford enjoyment 
to himself and to others as well as profit; 
he must understand the need of law and 
the general working of institutions, and 
be iready to take an intelligent part in 
government. 

Organization of a government by a 
class in class has proved itself a splendid 
exercise in preparing students, particu- 



204 RESULTS 

larly boys, for life, for (1) it appeals to 
the "gang" spirit in the boy; (2) it 
teaches him respect for his fellows ; ( 3 ) it 
helps him to do his own thinking, prevent- 
ing blind allegiance to party; (4) it in- 
stills courtesy; (5) it demands obedience 
in discipline; (6) it develops character, — 
initiative, self-control, courage, determina- 
tion, leadership; (7) it arouses ambition 
to win for the sake of a cause ; ( 8 ) it gives 
him practice in extemporaneous speech; 
(9) it familiarizes him with parlia- 
mentary procedure; (10) it teaches him 
that governmental institutions are evolved 
to meet the conditions and the demands of 
the times and should so serve; (11) it 
makes him appreciate the multifarious 
interests of government; and (12) it gives 
him a patriotic pride in the Constitution. 
All these results were brought to the 
fore by the boys and girls themselves. 
The combination of oral composition with 
history vitalized the work in history, gave 
the boys and girls better control of their 
powers, and trained them in effective 
speech. The pupils left the work in 
organizing a government with a hearty 



SUMMARY 205 

respect for law, with an admiration for 
law-makers, and with an intelligent 
appreciation of the responsibilities of 
citizenship. 

SUMMARY 

Chapter X gives practical details about 
a class organization of government that 
serves as an excellent test in extempora- 
eous speaking as well as a test of origi- 
nality of ideas. It shows how students 
themselves can develop all the qualities 
needed to win in the world. Respect for 
others, quickness of wit, practicality, 
shrewdness of judgment, responsibility 
towards environment, and individual con- 
science are all developed. Regard for 
law is demonstrated, but the mind of the 
student at the same time is critical of law, 
not gullible enough to swallow all law 
whole. Man's part in making law is 
brought out. The plan is right in line 
with the movement to teach good citizen- 
ship in the schools. There is such a hearty 
enjoyment in the whole scheme that the 
weakest is led unconsciously to assert him- 
self and to grow stronger in ideas and 



206 SUMMARY 

expression before an audience. The 
chapter shows that deliberate effort to 
train students to think and to speak be- 
fore the class in " one-minute talks," as 
described, can bring results that are sur- 
prising. It proves that the daily holding 
up of an ideal of the fine speaker will lead 
students to improve in personal com- 
posure, delivery, style, and quality of 
ideas. 

Practical training in oral composition 
would give the boy or the girl ability to 
use everyday English in a pleasing and 
effective way. The high school should 
insure to its graduate the use of correct, 
clear speech, straight to the point. It 
will not be able to do this until more 
well-planned attention is given to oral 
composition, until the pupils' speech re- 
ceives as much regard as the pupils' writ- 
ing. Ability to speak and to write one's 
own language correctly is the keystone of 
culture. It behooves us to ask, then, Are 
the schools laying the proper groundwork 
for culture? 



INDEX 



Address, pleasing. See Fine speaker 

^neas, 125 

Allusions, 113, 114 

"Angleworm," the diffident boy, 13-16 

Argonautic expedition, 125 

Argument. See Debate 

Argumentative, the, 74 

Art. 69, 129 

Aspasia, 102 

Avoid, mistakes to. See Pitfalls 

Bacon, Lord, inductive method, 92 

Baltimore, Public Athletic League of, 178 

Bibliography, explained, 129, 130; of Roman history, 135-144 

Biography, 69, 134 

Bluffing, 50 

Boileau, 6 

Bookishness, 72 

Boy Scout movement, 178 

Brief, 87 

Cadmus, 125 

Candidates, license to teach oral English, Preface, ix 

Choice of subject, 60 

Class. See Oral composition. Sample lesson, and Talks 

Club: English, 30-37; History, 146-176; how managed, 31; 

in working, 32-37; results, 172-175; Speakwell, Preface, 

xii; summary, 175, 176 
Colleges, domination of, 72 
Composition. See Oral composition 
Conversation, 62, 72; debate, 75 

207 



208 INDEX 

Correlation, 45, 46; English, geography, spelling, and history, 
128, 156; history and English, 82; mythology and English, 
113-126; mythology and history, 114-126 

Criticism: Blackboard, 17, 18; card catalog of, 14, 30, 53; 
demand eradication, 53; discussion of, 17; gradual, 27; 
how to judge debates, 79, 80, 82, 83; praise as well as 
blame, 17, 27, 51, 52; sample, extreme case, 82-37; self, 
26.29 

Cure for slovenly speech, 2, 10, 11, 19, 20 

Debates, brief, 87; debate in relay, 96-99; deciding paragraph 
debates, 82, 83; formal debate, 90, 91; good debate, 
results of, 74; History Club, 160, 161; impromptu, 37; 
in history, 80-82; kinds of argument, 91-94; literary so. 
ciety, 84, 85; main issu s, 87; mock trial, 94-96; para- 
graph debates, 75-79; peroration, 88; procedure, 79, 80; 
refutation, 85-89; subjects for debates, 97-99; subjects 
for paragraph debates, 75-79; summary, 100, 101; sym- 
posium, 104; terms, 85, 91-94 

Declaration of Independence, 179 

Deficiencies in speech, 2, 4 

Delivery, 26, 57, 58; debate, 79, 84 

Description. See Subjects 

Diagrams: Types of sentences, 59; debates, 83 

Dictionary, 19 

Discipline. See Parliamentary procedure 

Don'ts: Do not choose uninteresting subjects, 48, 49; do not 
discourage by too much condemnation or spoil by too 
much praise, 51, 52; do not be discouraged, 54, 55; 
do not drill outlines blindly until students hate them, 51; 
do not emphasize one phase of the talk at the expense of 
the others, 49, 50; do not encourage "hot air," 50; do 
not fail to arouse interest, 46-48; do not fail to hear from 
all of the class, 43-45; do not fail to let the class get the 
ben fit as well as the teacher, 53, 54; in debate, 90, 91; 
do not let correction go in one ear and out the other, 52, 
53; do not sacrifice the lesson to oral composition, 45, 46 

Dramatic, the, 123, 179, 180 



INDEX 209 



Ease. See Fine speaker 
Educated man, 69, 70 
Education, Preface, x 
Efficiency, Preface, ix, 40 
English. See Oral composition 
English Journal, Preface, ix 
Exposition. See Subject 

Faults of classes, 5; debate, 83; history, 128, 146-148, 173 
Fine speaker, the, 8, 9, 23-25; in debate, 79, 80; in meetings, 

164 
Flag, 200. 201 

Gavel, 32, 161, 162 

George Junior Republic, 178 

Gesture, 13, 23, 57, 84, 156 

Government: A government in seven days, 180-201; organi- 
zation in class, 177-180; results of work in government, 
201-206 

Grammar, 24, 156, 159 

Gulick, Dr. Luther H., on gang spirit, 178 

Hercules, labors of, 125 

High schools. Preface, x 

History, 69: Bibliography of Roman history, 135-144; club, 
146-176; debates, 80-82; filing away work, 129; historical 
spirit, 132-134; maps, 129; objects, 132-134; oral com- 
position, 127-135; organizing a government in class, 177- 
206; reference reading, 127-132; results of work in gov- 
ernment, 201-206; sample lessons of talks, 163-172; study 
of documents by dramatic rendering, 179, 180; summary 
of work in history, 144, 145 

Human interest, 67, 130 

Ideas, 24-26, 49, 60, 62-67; debate, 79 
Imagination, 65 

Indians, restricted as subject, 68 
Interest, 9 



210 INDEX 

Journal, 66 

Julius Cwsar, Mark Antony's address, 89 

Laboratory method. Preface, xii, 17, 29, 30, 92 

Lack of response, 36 

Landor, Walter Savage, 102 

Lesson. See Sample lesson 

Letters, debate in, 75 

Library, 127 

Lincoln, Gettysburg speech, 89 

Lindsay, Judge Ben, 174, 175 

Literary Society: Debate in relay, 96-99; deciding debates, 
79, 80; formal debate, 90, 91; mock trial, 94-96; para- 
graph debates, 84, 85; parliamentary procedure, 54; 
symposium, 104; talk memorized, 57, 58 

Literature, 69 

McCrea, James, on training in government, 177 
Magazines, 63 
Main issues. See Debates 
Man, the educated, 69, 70 
Marking. See Criticism 

Methods. See Parliamentary procedure. Summaries, Pref- 
ace, xi 
Milton, allusion of, 113 
Minutes, 151-162 
Mock trial. See Debates 
Mottoes, 18 
Mythological symposium, 114, 115 

Narration. See Subject 

National Council of Teachers of English, Preface, vii 

National Educational Association, 202 

Nature, 69 

Newark, Central High School of, Preface, viii, x 

Note-taking, 39, 54; as a thought-clarifier, 56; college methods, 
61; for a personal experience, 70; for talks, 58; short- 
hand, 194 

Number. See Talks. Preface, x 



INDEX 211 

Object of book, 5 

Observation, 63 

Old Testament, reading in history, 129 

Olympian Council, 124 

Opinion: Debates, 82, 83, 91; forcing an, 38, 39, 65, 66; 
forming an, 203; student opinion of club, 149-154; 
symposium, 104, 109, 110 

Oral composition: Convictions in regard to. Preface, xi; need 
of, 1-5; recognition of need by New York State Asso- 
ciation of English Teachers and High School Teachers' 
Association of New York, 3; results in general, 205, 206; 
results of oral composition in history, 172-175, 191, 192; 
social, business, and cultural valut., 47, 48 

Orator. See Fine speaker 

Organization. See Parliamentary procedure 

Outlines, 19, 50, 51, 58; brief, 87; debates, 83, 84; history, 
128; personal experience, 70; blackboard record of sym- 
posium, 104; refutation, 85 

Parliamentary procedure, 30; debates, 79, 80; debates in 
relay, 96; discipline, 161, 162; formal debate, 90, 91; 
gavel, 32, 161; government in seven days, 182-201; 
History Club, 148; history reports, 133; in working, 32- 
37; minutes in history, 154-162; mock trial, 94-96; 
organizing a government, 180-182; student comments, 
149-154; symposium, 102, 103, 105, 106; 114-116; 
Preface, xi 

Pericles, 102 

Peroration. See Debates 

Perseus, adventures of, 125 

Philadelphia, Department of Public Works, 178 

Pitfalls, 43 

Poise. See Fine speaker 

Popular Educator, Preface, x 

Position, 26, 33 

Private school, Preface, x 

Procedure, <See Parliamentary procedure 

Pronunciation, 19, 26, 33, 128, 156 



212 INDEX 

Psychology. See Summary 
Public speaking. See Fine speaker 

Qualities of teachers: Balance, 45, 49; enthusiasm, power to 
interest, 46, 47; fertility of thought, 55; generalship, 43; 
impartiality, 44; ingenuity, 44, 45; in symposium, 103; 
sensitiveness, 51; sympathy, 31, 44; systematic per- 
severance, 55; tact, 55; watchfulness, 44, 45 

Qualities, rhetorical. See Rhetorical qualities 

Reading, 62; bibliography of Roman history reading, 135- 
144; minutes, record, 162, 163; reference, 127; results of 
systematic reading in history, 134, 135; summary of 
reference reading in history, 144, 145 

Refutation, 85, 88 

Religion, 69 

Reports, 39, 40, 61; history, 131, 132; History Club, 155; 
reading in history, 131, 132; synonyms, 71 

Restriction of subject, 67-69 

Rhetorical qualities: Brevity, 19; clearness, 19; coherence, 
19, 87, 88; emphasis, 19, 88; paragraph debates, 75; 
unity, 19, 75, 87 

Sample lesson: Club in working, 32-37; first talks, 13-16; 
harmonious development, 23-26; helping the students 
to think, 62-66; introductory to talks, 5-11; kinds of 
argument, 91-94; minutes of the History Club, 157-162; 
Olympian Council meeting, in session, 116-124; organ- 
izing a government in seven days, 180-201; preparing 
debate, 86-89; restricting the subject, 68, 69; symposium 
on a national flower, 105-110; visit to the History Club, 
163-172 

Science, 69 

School, a preparation for life, 201-205 

School paper, 71 

Schools, restricted as a subject, 69 

Self-government. See Club 

Slang, 18, 19, 47, 48 

Slovenly English, Preface, ix; cure for, 2, 10, 11, 19, 20 



INDEX 213 

Speaker. See Fine speaker 

Spelling, 128, 129 

Spencer, Herbert, on self-teaching, ii 

Spontaneity, 14 

Sport, true, 74 

Style, 9, 58; in debates, 79, 89 

Subjects: Anecdotes, 70; biography, 39, 40, 61; choice of, 
57, 60, 72, 73; debates in history, 80-82; debates, 75-79, 
81, 82,97-99; Declaration of Independence, 179; descrip- 
tion, 20, 70; exposition, 20; the familiar, 72; good sub- 
ject for debate, 86, 96; history impromptu, 160; hobbies, 
48; interesting, 48; jokes, 70; narration, 20, 70; para- 
gi'aph development, 70; paragraph debates, 75-79; para- 
phrases, 71; personal experiences, 20, 70; point of 
view, 48; processes, 20; qualifications of good subject, 
66-68; reasons, 20; reports, 20, 39, 40, 70, 71; restriction 
of subject, 67-69; school paper, 71; subject-matter, 69-72; 
summaries, 20; symposium, 110, 111, 124-126; trans- 
lation, 20; U. S. Constitution, 179; vital interest, 50, 57; 
vocational, 71 

Suggestion, 28 

Summaries of chapters, 20-22, 40-42, 55, 56, 72, 73, 100, 101, 
111, 112, 126, 144, 145, 175, 176, 205, 206 

Summarizing, in debates, 88 

Supervision. See Parliamentary procedure. Criticism 

Syllogism. See Debate, terms 

Symposium, 102-112; in Greece, 102; mythological, 113-126; 
summary. 111, 112; value and use of, 102-112 

Talks: How given, 11-13; how to judge debates, 79, 80 
inter-class talks, 40; introductory talk to class, 5-11 
kinds of argument, 91-94; length of talks, 61; number, 44 
preparing a debate, 86-89; voluntary, 30; ways of using, 
57-62 

Teacher. See Qualities 

Teaching: Convictions about teaching oral composition. 
Preface, ix; self-teaching, 45, 46, 147, 148, 159, 172-175, 
182-201 



214 INDEX 

Team play, 53, 54 

Tests, 37-40; symposium, 110; History Club, 156 

Themes. See Subjects 

Theseus, 125 

Time. See Talks 

Timidity, 11, 12, 25, 28, 44 

Toasts. See Symposium 

Topic. See Subject 

Trojan War, 124 

Ulysses, 124 

Vocabulary, 18, 19, 59 
Vocational, 71 

Written themes, 46 



